Governor, Theodre Orji
Umuahia, Sept. 17, 2013 (NAN) The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has begun the training of 40 Abia health workers in the first batch of its integrated HIV and AIDS service.
Dr Chukwuemeka Oluoha, the Executive Director of the state Primary Health Care Development Agency, declared open the training programme at an eight-day workshop in Umuahia.
In his opening remarks, Oluoha charged the participants to take the training seriously and to support government’s efforts to ensure adequate coverage of the state through the numerous health facilities.
He said that the Abia Government was worried by the high prevalence rate of the scourge in the state, in spite of the concerted fight to control it.
‘’You should rise to the challenge to bring down the prevalence rate in Abia.
‘’We are in a hurry to bring down the prevalence rate of HIV and AIDS.”
He expressed the hope that the rate would begin to decline end of the training as it was expected that the participants would utilise knowledge to be acquired.
Oluoha described the coming of Midwife Service Scheme and Sure-P health facilities into the state as a blessing, saying that it was supposed to help in bringing HIV and AIDS services to the grassroots.
Also speaking, Dr Valentine Obijiekwu, the Project Officer, Action in Community Prevention of Maternal/Child Transmission of HIV in NPHCDA, said that the training was being organised in conjunction with the U.S. Centre for Disease Control.
Obijiekwe said that it would be held in six states with HIV and AIDS prevalence rate higher than the national prevalence rate of 4.1 per cent.
The states are Abia, Bayelsa, Lagos, Benue, Kaduna and Nasarawa.
He recalled that a similar training was conducted last year in 12 states with high prevalence rates, including Abia, adding that the current effort was ‘’designed to fill the gap”.
He said that the training was arranged in two batches with 40 participants in each batch, adding that the second batch would commence at the end of the first batch.
Two of the participants, Stella Umunna and Rejoice Orji, described the training as timely and imperative in the effort to stamp out the HIV and AIDS scourge in the state. (NAN)
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