The Gombe State Agency for the Control of AIDs (GOMSACA) has constituted a Gender and Human Rights State Response Team, to curb rights violations of People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).
Our correspondent, reports that the committee members include legal practitioners, security agents, human rights organisations, PLWHAs and the media among others.
Addressing members of the committee after its inauguration on Friday in Gombe, Dr Suraj Abdulkarim, The Project Manager of GOMSACA, said Gombe was among the 17 states selected to constitute the committee, based on its ranking by the National body.
Abdulkarim explained that the committee’s mandate was to proffer realistic solutions to the current rising cases of human rights violations, particularly those of PLWHAs.
Speaking to our correspondent shortly after the ceremony, the project manager said Gombe State had made significant improvement, compared to the beginning of the epidemic, when people living with the virus were dying without medical assistance.
“Because of the efforts by Gombe State Government and Partners, the prevalent rate of the virus has dropped from eight per cent to 1.1 per cent,” he said.
According to him, if the current efforts are sustained, HiV/AIDS will one day become history.
Abdulkarim said to achieve this goal, the agency had successfully placed about 23,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, on treatment across 24 comprehensive health facilities in the state.
He noted that this number constituted about 95 per cent of the total umber of PLWHAs in the state.
Another significant achievement, according to him, is the attainment of the viral suppression level of 90 per cent of PLWHAs on treatment.
“The viral suppression level is when the virus will not be seen in the blood, and people can have sex with them without getting infected,” he explained.
Abdulkarim, however, enumerated some challenges, mostly funding, that were hindering success of the war against the disease.
According to him, partners’ attention has tilted to trending health issues such as COVID-19, Diabetes and others, stressing the need for domestic funding for the treatment of PLWHAs.
He expressed fear that if their treatment was not sustained, Gombe State might revert to status quo of alarming rate of HIV/AIDS.
He listed other challenges to include the increasing number of orphans and vulnerable children; as well as getting access to adolescents, especially those out school, to sensitise them on HIV/AIDS.
Reports also have that issues raised during the committee’s deliberations include the need for a medical support fund survivor of rape.
Others include Gender Human Rights Education, effective coordination and provision of data management systems.
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