Nigeria Content Online

The AIDS Prevention Initiative of
Nigeria (APIN) yesterday gave assurance of its readiness to assist the
Ogun State government in tackling the spread of HIV.

The chief executive officer of the
NGO, Prosper Okonkwo, spoke at a stakeholders’/advocacy meeting on the
expansion of Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission services to
primary healthcare centres, held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

He noted that the task of curbing the menace was the collective responsibility of all stakeholders in the health sector.

More facilities needed

Speaking further, Mr Okonkwo noted that
Nigeria was ranked high among countries with the highest number of
people living with AIDS owing to a dearth of maternity hospitals. He
solicited the state government’s support in order to achieve the
organisation’s set objectives.

“In 2009, around 400,000 children
under the age of 16 became infected with HIV, mainly through
mother-to-child transmission. Nigeria has the second highest number of
people living with HIV in the world, after South Africa. There are low
numbers of hospitals and maternity homes in Nigeria, most mothers
deliver at homes or church,” he stressed.

“The reason we are here today is to
solicit for a partnership with the state government so as to improve
healthcare services for our people,” he added.

Shortly after the stakeholders’
meeting, APIN donated CD4 machines to the Ijebu-Ode General Hospital
and the Sacred Heart Hospital in Abeokuta, where he said 25 primary
healthcare centres would spring up in the state before September.

In his response, Oluyemisi Ajibawo, the government representative
at the occasion, promised maximum cooperation from the state
government, identifying funding as a major challenge in reaching out to
the grassroots people.