Health

Wike abolishes user-fees for persons living with HIV in Rivers

331
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has announced that the state has abolished health facility user-fees for persons living with HIV, as advocated by the U.S. Government.
The Governor stated that Rivers State Government would take over payments in all their public health facilities, as this will increase access to anti-retroviral treatment, and improve epidemic control of HIV in the state.
Governor Wike also pledged to support the efforts of the United States Government, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), to alleviate the suffering of people living with HIV in Rivers State.
According to him, the support would be facilitated through a close working relationship with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria (IHVN), who are supporting HIV treatment services in Rivers State.
Earlier, the US Government Delegation to Rivers State, led by Dr. Tedd Ellerbrock from CDC, had appealed to the Governor to address the issue of user-fees and remove all other bottlenecks that hinder easy access to anti-retroviral treatment for persons living with HIV.
Dr. Ellerbrock informed the Governor of USG’s strategy to rapidly increase the number of people living with HIV who have access to life-saving treatment, adding that to do this successfully, all barriers to access must be addressed comprehensively.
The United State Government, through PEPFAR, is implementing an ART Surge Strategy across Nigeria, with emphasis on states and geographical locations that are hardest hit with the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Over the next 18 months, the ART Surge Strategy is to ensure an additional half-million people access ART and stay on treatment, thereby remaining healthy and reducing the possibility of HIV transmission.
USAID collaborates with the Nigerian Ministry of Budget and National Planning, the Nigerian Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Power, and Education, and state-level government counterparts, among others, to structure the estimated $2.45 billion agreement, which runs through the end of 2020.

Leave a comment

Related Articles

Cholera claims 10 lives in Enugu

At least 10 fatalities have been recorded in Enugu State following a...

Mpox outbreak: Cross River, Lagos lead with highest cases

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) says Mpox cases...

NAFDAC seizes N5bln flood-damaged drugs in Borno

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has...

LUTH starts bone marrow transplant to cure sickle cell disease

The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), in conjunction with the Sickle Cell...

Nigeria reports 4,915 suspected meningitis cases, 361 fatalities – NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has reported a...

Mpox outbreak: 67 cases confirmed in 23 states – NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed 67...

NAFDAC probes Delta Pastor Jeremiah’s “agency-approved” miracle water, soap

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has...

FG sets Oct. 8 as the tentative date for mpox vaccination

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has announced that the...

FG grants 50% electricity subsidy to hospitals nationwide

The Federal Government has granted a 50 percent subsidy on electricity consumption...

U.S. donates 10,000 Mpox vaccines to Nigeria

The United States Government on Tuesday donated 10,000 doses of the Jynneos...

Counterfeit beverages: NAFDAC clamps down on Bauchi stores, markets

The Bauchi State Office of the National Agency for Food and Drug...

NAFDAC shuts down bakery for using unfortified sugar, banned potassium bromate

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has...

Newly inaugurated Lagos private medical facility forays into nuclear medicine

“Nuclear medicine helps in the treatment of thyroid disease, cancer, and arthritis,...

Counterfeit alcoholic beverages: NAFDAC seals 100 shops, suspects apprehended in Enugu

The National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has shut...

Illicit drugs fuel crimes, criminalities in Nigeria – Marwa

Retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement...

PCN descends on unlicensed medicine outlets, shuts 531 in Abuja

The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) has closed down 531 medicine outlets...

Cholera outbreak: FG in talks with GAVI to secure emergency vaccine doses

Amid a global vaccine shortage, the Federal Government says it has sought...

Housing, transport, economic reforms critical to containing cholera outbreak – FG

The Federal Government has declared that simultaneously addressing the interconnected issues of...

FEC approves $1.4bln to strengthen NDLEA’s fight against drug trafficking

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N1.99 billion for the purchase...

International Drug Day 2024: North, South-West, South-South Red Zones for Drug Abuse – NDLEA

By Shine Alagba Mrs. Ibinabo Archie-Abia, the Assistant Commander General of Narcotics...