Monarch takes HIV/AIDS campaign to husbands

Alhaji Muhammad Hardo, District Head of Kumo, Akko Local Government Area, Gombe State, has called on husbands to allow their wives visit health facilities for antenatal and to know their HIV/AIDS status.

Hardo made the called at the official inauguration of HIV/AIDS awareness campaign for Gombe central senatorial zone at Kumo on Friday.

“Whoever denies his wife going for the test has cheated on her and the community as whole, whatever you are doing you should ensure your good health and the family,” he said.

He also called on wards and village heads to extend the sensitisation to their domains for people to understand the risk and significance of knowing their status.

Alhaji Abdullahi Sambo, the Village Head of Tashan-Magarya, appreciated the effort of the organisers for their concern to people in the area and assured of effective campaign.

Dr Joshua Abubakar, Head of advocacy team representing Friends Forever Society, an NGO, said that the exercise was sponsored by Sen. Danjuma Goje in conjunction with National Agency for the Control of AIDs (NACA) as part of his constituency project.

“When you create awareness they will be fully sensitised to change their attitude toward HIV/AIDS, improve the rate of screening, pregnant women can go for antenatal so that they can be screened and young men and women can be tested at will to know their status,” he said.

According to him, at the end of the screening those that tested HIV positive can go and take the Anti-retroviral drugs to have very productive life and give birth to children with HIV free.

Abubakar said this was part of an effort to reduce the spread of the virus in the community and to help infected persons to access the free drugs at the health facility for their good health.

He said attending health facilities was very important especially for the pregnant women for them to undergo different test that would help them to deliver safely.

According to him, this will also help infected persons to give birth to HIV free children.

At the end of the sensitisation, free HIV/AIDS screening was offered to those who voluntarily wish to know their status.