NEPHWAN Raises Alarm Over Lack of HIV Test Kits in Taraba
By Chuwang Dungs, Jalingo
The Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPHWAN), Taraba State chapter, on Monday raised the alarm over the lack of HIV tests kits in the state.
State coordinator, Ladi Abraham, urged the state government to ensure the availability of the test kits in hospital for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.
Mrs Ladi said this during the celebration of 2024 World AIDS Day (WAD) in Jalingo.
She said the shortage of test kits was a problem and could affect the vision to end AIDS in Nigeria by 2030.
“The lack of the test kits is affecting us, when we go for awareness campaigns, we don’t have the kits to test people to know their status, people are willing for the test but the kits are not available,” she lamented.
She explained that the kits, which are supposed to be used to determine the status of infants born by HIV positive mothers, are not available in the state.
She, however, appreciated the efforts of the Taraba State Agency for the Control of AIDS (TACA) for supporting the association and called on the state government to release funds to TACA through the Ministry of Health rather than relying basically on development partners.
The Director-General of TACA, Bako Istifanus, said thousands of People Living With HIV in the state are currently receiving treatment.
Mr Istifanus, a doctor, said the state has recorded tremendous success in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the last couple of years.
