Residents of Bununu, Tafawa Balewa local government area of Bauchi State have turned out en masse for the free HIV/AIDS test outreach offered by the Bauchi State Agency for Control of HIV/AIDS Tuberculosis Leprosy and Malaria (BACATMA).
The agency in collaboration with Breakthrough Action Nigeria and other development partners extended the outreach to Bununu and the ancient Tafawa Balewa town in commemoration of this year’s World AIDS Day to create awareness on the need for concerted community action to eradicate the disease.
Beneficiaries were also screened for other diseases such as Hepatitis, Tuberculosis and Malaria and those whose results were confirmed to be positive for any of the ailments will be put on medication and counselling.
Data from eClinicalMedicine indicates that HIV/AIDS prevalence in Nigeria stood at 2.1% among adults aged 15-49 years which corresponds to approximately 2,000,000 million people living with the disease in the country.
Similarly, 2022 UNAIDS data further shows that an estimated 1.8 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.
Also, Bauchi State Sustainable HIV/AIDS Road Map posited that as of 2015, about 13,298 persons were receiving ‘comprehensive Antiretroviral’ therapy in the state.
Bununu Primary Health Care Center and Tafawa Balewa Central Motor Park were filled by the intended recipients of the medical screening. Some assembled at the two designated centres at 8am to book their places to undergo the tests.
A middle-aged mother who brought her child to the Bununu screening centre, Nabilatu Abdullahi trekked from her community which lies 5km away, to avail the opportunity to partake in the screening.
“I brought myself and my child to under the medical screening. My child is here for a tuberculosis test,” she said.
To the young mother, the level of importance government and other stakeholders attached to the diseases convinced her to key into the exercise.
She added, “It is an opportunity that presented itself to us. If not for outreach like this, you have to go to the hospital in Tafawa Balewa or Bayara to access these services.
Korau Driver who appears to be in his late sixties, remains dogged to wait for his turn to have the tests. While he is the 364th person on the queue, he has no intention of leaving the centre without being screened.
“If by the providence of fate, I am unable to get tested today, I will not hesitate to come back for same tomorrow,” he said pointing with his hand to affirm his commitment.
Tsammani Kyauta, 20, who spoke with WikkiTimes at the Tafawa Balewa Center, the free medical screening afforded her the opportunity to know her HIV/AIDS status.
“I want to know my HIV/AIDS status to be able to protect myself from the viral disease,” Kyauta said.
WikkiTimes reports that across the two centres, recipients of the screening turned out in their numbers – young and old, men and women and children.
In 2022, the Bauchi Health Ministry confirmed detecting about 2000 new HIV/AIDS infections. The figure represented the highest number of new infection cases ever recorded in the state. About 30,000 were estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS in the state and out of 30,000 recorded cases, the ministry identified 29,160 persons infected with HIV/AIDS and put on Antiretroviral therapy.
Speaking, the Executive Chairman of BACATMA, Dr Sani Muhammad Dambam said outreach aims to reduce the burden of preventable communicable diseases in the state.
He called on people to endure and complete the screening, commending the continued support of global donor agencies towards addressing the burden of HIV/AIDS in the state.
