NGO Urges FG On HIV funding For EMTCT

To achieve elimination of Mother to Child Transmission (eMTCT) of ‎HIV, a‎ non-governmental organisation (NGO), Centre for Positive ‎Health Organisation (CEPO), ‎has urged the Federal government to increase funding to support People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).

Making the call at the Heart 2 Heart (H2H) Unit, General Hospital Badagry,‎ Lagos State, when the JAPiN team visited PLWHA, the Executive Director of CEPO, Mrs. Kadiri Oluseyi, under the platform of Abidjan – Lagos – Corridor (ALCO) said government should support PLWHAs’, NGOs, support groups and partners working in the area of HIV with increased funding‎.‎

Oluseyi ‎said government’s support through funding and access to ‎anti-retroviral (ARV) will go a long way to stem‎ the pains faced by PLWHAs.

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“Some difficulties faced is that most of the PLWHAs are always upset, not owning up to their status or visiting the hospital in line with the directive of their psychosocial counsellor. Some of them often refuse to be counselled or receive drugs, we don’t give up, we counsel the PLWHAs on the risk involved for his or her action and also the community. But, I believe with persistent information, they often succumb.‎

‎”Getting infected is one thing and accepting the result is another, likewise taking it upon oneself to live a positive life is also another thing. First, they need to accept that they are positive and second, is access to treatment‎.”

“By the time they are beginning to access treatment and now fully in charge of themselves, knowing that they have to start treatment and live a positive life, they need to avoid getting fresh infection or getting other people infected, definitely, the information would have become valuable,” she said.‎

According to her, CEPO/ ACOL is working towards HIV prevention, maternal health, tuberculosis prevention, treatment, care and support at the community level.

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Oluseyi called on government to address discrimination and stigmatisation of PLWHA, adding that there should be intensive education. ‎

Speaking also, psychosocial counsellor, Abidjan- Lagos Corridor, ‎Mrs. Salami Bukola, said, “we monitor and follow -up PLWHAs, counsel them to accept their result and register to receive ARV drugs. We don’t force the PLWHAs, rather we tell them the negative impact of not registering and adhering to the prescription of the ARV.

“The drugs are free, but not all the tests are free. The two most important that are free is CD4 and Viral Load. We have recorded great success in this project. The PLWHAs pregnant mothers give birth to negative children.

“80 per cent of our client’s babies are negative. The 20 percent of babies born positive with HIV is due to negligence of the mother.”‎

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