Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State has said there were about 38,000 unidentified people living with Human Immune Virus, HIV, in the state, adding that the prevalence rate, which placed the state above the 1.4 percent, was saddening.
Governor Ihedioha made the revelation yesterday in Owerri, while annoucing free treatment for all persons living with HIV, in the state, in a scheme termed Antiretroviral Therapy, ART, Surge Response.
According to him, “we are saddened with the statistics of the prevalence rate in the state. We are fully committed to identifying the 38,000 persons said to be living with HIV, and enlisting them for treatment.
“All fees previously charged by government medical establishments for the treatment of HIV are, hereby, banned. Any government official or employee that violates this directive would face commensurate sanction.”
The governor directed the 27 local government councils in the state to key into the ART Surge Response scheme and urged heads of all tertiary institutions in the state to join in the fight against the spread of the virus through the inclusion of screening of new students.
His words: “The number of persons living with the virus is frightening, but we are determined to change the narrative. Hopefully, we will be back here in the next one year to celebrate our success story in this fight.”
Speaking also, United States Deputy Chief of Mission, Miss Kathleen Fitzgibbon, said anybody can get HIV, adding that US government has spent over $6 billion in the past 15 years, in the fight against HIV spread.
She urged everyone to work in synergy to break the cycle of infection, promising that the United States would work with the state government to bring the statistics lower than what it is now.
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