Dec. 1, 2021

Kano State Government has advised residents to make themselves available for voluntary HIV/AIDS testing to know their status and be placed on appropriate medication, if tested positive.

The state Commissioner for Health Dr. Aminu Tsanyawa gave the advice on Wednesday at a news conference to commemorate the 2021 World AIDS Day.

He said that the state government had been at its best in collating data on the disease and providing the necessary counselling for people living with the virus.

Tsanyawa explained that the Gov. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje administration had placed priority on providing quality health care for the citizens, with much attention to women and children.

The state, he said, had established the Kano Health Trust Fund, to which five per cent of its Internally Generated Revenue and one per cent of the local government statutory allocation is dedicated.

He stressed that the aim of the fund was to ensure sustainable health financing.

“The administration has activated over 600 secondary and primary facilities across 484 wards for the provision of HIV testing services to curtail the spread of HIV/AIDS in the state,” he said.

He pointed out that there were over 35,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the state currently receiving treatment across 43 comprehensive health centres.

The state embarked on some activities to commemorate this year’s World AIDS Day.

The activities included public lecture, launching of the standardised premarital screening certificates and empowerment of people living with HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable groups.

December 1st of every year is set aside by the World Health Organization (WHO) to support people living with the virus and remember those who died from HIV/AIDS related illnesses. (NAN)