GOMSACA constitutes technical committee to combat HIV stigma, rights abuse
The Gombe State Agency for the Control Of AIDs GOMSACA has constituted a Gender and Human first Technical Committee to support the fight against HIV.
The committee which Is in line with the National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA) supported by Global Fund consist of relevant stakeholders to include lawyers, security agents , media representative of human right commission, people living with HIV civil society organisations , religious organisations and line ministries.
Addressing the committee, the Project Manager of GOMSACA Dr Suraj Abdulkarim, said Gombe is among the 17 states selected to constitute the committee based on the ranking carried out by its National body.
He said the committee is to proffer possible ways of addressing the alarming cases of human right violation particularly to people living with HIV.
Speaking in an interview with our correspondent on the HiV situation in Gombe, the project manager said Gombe State has made significant improvement compared to the beginning of the epidemic when people living with the virus were dying without getting treatment.
He said, “because of effort put in place by Gombe State government and Partners the prevalence rate has dropped from 8 percent to 1.1 percent saying if the effort continues HiV will one day become history.”
The PM said the agency has successfully put about 95 percent people living with HIV on treatment across 24 comprehensive health facilities in the state adding that there are twenty three thousand people on treatment.
Another significant succes the project manager added is the area of people living with HIV attaining suppression level noting ninety eight percent people on treatment have attained this level.
“The viral suppression is the level where the virus will not be seen in the blood and people can have sex with them without getting infected,”The PM explained.
Abdulkarim, however enumerated challenges to include funding saying partners attention has tilted to other health issues such as Covid-19, diabetes stressing the need for domestic funding to treat maintain people living with HIV.
He expressed fear that if their treatment6 is not maintained the state may return to the status quo.
Another challenge he said is increasing number of orphan and vulnerable children and getting access to Adolescents especially the out of school.
The Community Mobilisation Officer o f GOMSACA Mahmood Elnafty called for synergy to address emerging issues of human right violation particularly to people living with HIV.
Our correspondent reports that top on issues raised during deliberations of the committee include need for support fund to Carter for survivors of rape in hospitals, gender human right education, effective coordination and data management systems.
