NAN
Mr Cosmos Ndukwe, the Deputy Speaker of the Abia House of Assembly, has called for massive senisitization on the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and infant mortality in rural areas.
Ndukwe made the call in Umuahia on Tuesday while receiving Dr Ajike Kalu, the Project Director, Abia State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS (ABSACA) in the assembly.
The deputy speaker said he had painstakingly observed the programmes of ABSACA and felt that the intervention of the agency would be much felt in the hinterland.
He said that the Bill on Stigmatization of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS was receiving accelerated hearing in the assembly.
Ndukwe urged the populace not to be afraid of revealing their status assuring them that it was not a death sentence.
The deputy speaker said the virus was better handled if detected early and not when it had spread to AIDS and could no longer be managed.
Earlier, Kalu said the agency was tirelessly working towards ensuring that the HIV/AIDS prevalence was drastically reduced.
According to him, the last survey indicates that the level of prevalence in the state has dropped from 7 per cent to 3.9 per cent.
The project director however, appealed to the assembly to expedite passage of the bill on stigmatisation of persons living with HIV/AIDS.
He saluted the partnership between the agency and Vicar Hope Foundation, a nongovernmental organization that is impacting massively on the healthcare delivery system in the state.