WORLD AIDS DAY: Unijos Community Records High Rates Of Carriers
Communities around University of Jos, in Plateau State, is said to be the highest carriers of Human Immune Deficiency (HIV) and Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
This was disclosed on Thursday, by the Acting Executive Director, Plateau Aids Control Agency (PLACA), Mr Sunday Markus at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) CAMP in Jos.
Markus said that, Angwan-rogo and Farin-gada which are communities around University of Jos, has been recently recorded as the communities in Jos that has the highest number of HIV carriers.
He said “I have told University of Jos to conduct random free test to the said communities and also Unijos students for early dictation and treatment”.
The Acting Director who was speaking on the occasion to mark the “WORLD AIDS DAY” also said that in Plateau, a total of 328,753 people were counseled and tested across the 17 Local Government Council and out of which 8,998 were positive representing 2.7%, adding that from January to June, 2016, a total of 93,802 were counseled and tested and 3,037 were tested positive representing 3.2%.
The PLACA boss added that the strive towards ending HIV/AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030, is achievable in line with the 90-90-90 global strategy launched at the international AIDS Conference in Australia, in 2014.
He said that while treatment is seen as a veritable tool towards achieving the above in Plateau State, prevention strategies such as massive Community driven HIV Counseling and Testing, Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission and Condoms Programming across the 17 LGAs of the State, remain a veritable tool in preventing the scourge.
