4,000 Niger Deltans benefit from HIV/AIDS initiative

July 31, 2008 :: Boco Edet Daily Trust (Abuja)

Two thousand eight hundred people have received HIV counselling and testing while 900 pregnant women have benefitted from Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in the Niger Delta Region, a statement by members of the hospital advisory committee of the Niger Delta Response (NIDAR) has said. NIDAR which commenced operation in June 2007 was set up to prevent the transmission of HIV and mitigate the impact of AIDS in five states in the Niger Delta Region. The hospital advisory committee is made up of a representative each from the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, Family Health International and the hospital management boards of the five beneficiary states. The statement said: "The project has made HIV comprehensive care (HCC) services available in one hospital in each of five states-Abia, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Edo. About 280 patients enrolled into HIV/AIDS treatment and care during the period.NIDAR has particularly benefitted the rural population in the Niger Delta by increasing their access to services while strengthening the capacity of healthcare workers to manage and sustain HIV/AIDS services." According to the statement, a meeting of members of the hospital advisory committee will soon hold to review the performance of the initiative and take decisions on how to make it sustainable beyond the expiration date of October, 2008.