The Taraba State Agency for the Control of Aids (TACA) has called for stronger partnerships with civil society organisations in the state to check the scourge of HIV/AIDS in the state.
The call, made by the director-general of the agency in the state, Dr. Garba Danjuma, on Sunday while playing host to members of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Jalingo, called on the organisations to join forces with the agency to fight the scourge, as he disclosed that no fewer than 46,000 patients were undergoing HIV treatment in the state.
Danjuma said he was sad that the state still ranked first among states with the highest burden of HIV/AIDS in the north-east, despite recent significant reduction of the virus from 10.5 per cent to 2.9 per cent.
He credited the civil societies for being instrumental to the reduction but insisted that more would be achieved with “all hands on deck” and urged the coalition to expend more energy in dispelling the myths and misconceptions surrounding Covid-19 in the state.
Danjuma, who is also the focal person for the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in the state, said the 46,000 patients were among “the people we considered highly vulnerable” and insisted that they be protected from contracting the Coronavirus.
The TACA boss said he had been in contact with the People Living with People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), “so that they can protect themselves” and access medication when due.
“We have also developed a strategy where they (HIV patients) don’t miss their medications. We are giving them more than one-month medications.”
“In the past we gave them one month medications but because of the issue of the lockdown, we decided to give them medications to last them at least three months, so that they don’t miss out as a result of the lockdown.”
He further revealed that plans were in progress to co-opt members of the coalition into the agency’s board.
The civil societies, led by Dr. Joseph Gimba, congratulated Danjuma on his appointment as the DG of the TACA and assured him that the coalition would, as always, “work tremendously to uplift the lives of the people of the state” and hinted that the coalition has worked round the clock to raise no fewer than N400 million to implement various programmes across the state.
Gimba called on the state government to, as a matter of urgency, fashion out plans to appoint members of the coalition as board members of agencies and parastatals.
“There is no government institution in the state that has NGOs on their boards. NGOs are only working to complement the government, not to take over the responsibilities of the government; hence, the need for the government to have no fear about co-opting the NGOs into it boards.”
