The Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), an umbrella body representing all people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Nigeria and Community Support and Development Initiatives CSADI has awarded the Director General (DG) of Kano State Agency for the Control of AIDS (KSACA) Dr. Usman Bashir and 14 others for their commitment in the fight against HIV and AIDs in Kano state.
Hajiya Zainab Ahmed Suleiman MFR, JP, the director general of CSADI while briefing journalists in Kano on Sunday said the fifteen awardees were carefully selected by looking at their track record in either creating awareness for the people living with the disease or fighting stigma for HIV patients in Kano.
“We have awarded these people in recognition of how they support us, we have been working with these people for the past 25-years, some we help them, some we trained them for them to be self reliance, so it’s an honor to award them, the executive secretary of primary health care Dr. Muyi, and Dr. Laa has been the first person to support CSADI in the fight against HIV and AIDs in Kano state, we award DG KSACA and his staff as well as the executive secretary of primary health care and his staff for supporting us during this time,” said Mrs Zainab Suleiman.
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On the stoppage of funding HIV/AIDs by united states, the executive director of CSADI said “we are asking US president Donald Trump and other funders to know that fighting the scourge of this disease is now everyone’s business even the US will not spared, this type of disease has no border, so everyone should contribute so as to achieve a greater success,” added the executive director.
Also speaking, the chairman of NEPHWAN Kano comrade Nuhu Tela Gaya said the group honor the respective dignitaries for their support to members of the group, noting that their gesture will for years be remembered.
According to Tela, KSACA, primary health care and CSADI has inspired and will continue many members in and outside Kano state metropolis.
“NEPHWAN has been supporting and training members on different skills acquisition, some we have paid their medical bills, some we have settled their liabilities,” added Nuhu.
In a remark, the DG of KSACA Dr. Usman Bashir commended both the organizations for finding him worsy for the award, adding that Kano state has recorded over 4,000 new people tested with HIV in Kano state from january to date.
According to him, there are currently 42,000 thousand people living with HIV in Kano state and the Data were recorded from 43 testing locations which involved government, private and religious (both christian and muslims) centers in the state.
“We are not testing enough, and all parts of the country are not testing enough, so we cannot say either the rate of infection is going high or the low, there what we call 95–95 goal and we have not achieved,” said DG.
He commended the Kano state government led by engineer Abba Kabir Yusuf for funding the provision of testing kits and other consumables aimed at tackling the spread of the disease in the state.