NGO trains 25 vulnerable groups, persons living with AIDS on accessing quality HIV services in Kebbi
NGO trains 25 vulnerable groups, persons living with AIDS on accessing quality HIV services in Kebbi
The Society for Women Development and Empowerment of Nigeria (SWDEN), (an NGO), has trained 25 vulnerable groups and persons living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) on how to access qualitative HIV services in Kebbi.
The Programme Officer of the NGO, Umar Jemeta, said, at a five- day capacity training sponsored by National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS (NACA) in Birnin Kebbi on Wednesday, that the training was part of the effort towards ending the virus by 2030.
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He said,” Our organization is helping to implement this five – day capacity training sponsored and organised by the national agency for the control of HIV/AIDS (NACA).
“The importance of the training is to empower people living with HIV/AIDS and vulnerable groups on how to access qualitative HIV services towards ending the virus by 2030 mandate.
“We are trying to teach the participants, who are mostly persons living with HIV groups on how they can learn and take this information and skills to the community, so that they can join the fight to end the virus by 2030.”
Jimeta explained that the training explored and advocated the strategy of 95-95-95 for treatment towards ending the virus by 2030.
“The strategy is 95 per cent of people living with HIV knowing their HIV status; 95 per cent of people who know their status on treatment; and 95 per cent of people on treatment with suppressed viral loads.
“This will reduce the annual number of new HIV infections among adults to thousands, thereby achieving zero discrimination,” he said.
He said that the participants had been drawn from various organisations and youth groups in oder to be part of the learning process because of the nature of their work.
“They can help, step down the information and proliferate the information to communities towards unifying efforts of ending the virus by 2030.
” We have so far trained 250 groups of participants in 10 States, with each state having 25 participants, in the northern part of country with similar challenges, ” he said.
The officer urged the state government and people of the state to contribute their quota in actualising the vision of ending the virus by 2030.
Hajiya Sadiya Birnin Kebbi, who spoke on behalf of the participants, who is a member of National Network for People Living with HIV, said the training had exposed them to know their rights and proper channel to follow in oder to protect themselves and their children against gender- based violence and stigmatisation, among others.
“The training has really helped us in knowing how to deal with our day-to-day challenges of life as carrier of HIV in the state.
“Some of us are victims, not because the committed sinful acts but because they are victims of rape and gender – based violence,” she said.
Birnin Kebbi thanked the NGO and NACA for organising the programme for them, and assured that they would use the knowledge acquired to impact other people with similar challenges.
NGO trains 25 vulnerable groups, persons living with AIDS on accessing quality HIV services in Kebbi
