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[b]opinion


Apart from matters of development and politics, Benue State has always been in the news for the wrong reasons .The menace of HIV/AIDS has been on an astronomical increase in this agrarian state, and this has raised a lot of questions. SOLOMON AYADO writes on why the rate of the cankerworm is high.

The Benue State, which is popularly known as the Food Basket of the Nation, is located in the North-Central zone of the country. It is situated along the River Benue and is well known for hospitality and guaranteed security. Unfortunately, the story and menace of the dreaded disease, HIV/AIDS, seems to have taken over the level of hospitality and peace the state is known for, thereby battering its positive image.

[size=20pt]At the moment, prostitution and drunkenness have taken over the state, making it less hospitable and unsafe for people; and this is quite instrumental to the high rate of the dreaded disease.[/size]




As if in a stiff competition, hotels, local and traditional bars and beer parlours have continued to spring up in Makurdi, the state capital and other major towns.

[size=20pt]LEADERSHIP WEEKEND's investigation reveals that 65 per cent of women in the state, including housewives and students, have joined the illicit trade. About 25 per cent prefer to roam the offices of top government officials to sell their bodies at exorbitant rates.[/size]



Not a few others also pretend to engage in petty businesses such as hawking recharge cards and clothing materials around designated recreational parks. This act, it was discovered, is meant to attract amorous contacts for onward patronage.
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[b][size=20pt]Lagos Highest in HIV/AIDS Prevalence[/size]

Lasted Updated December 2, 2010 10:08 am


[size=20pt]About one million people in Lagos State are living with HIV/AIDS; most of them between 15 and 24 years, and this rate is the highest in Nigeria.[/size]



This figure was announced on Wednesday by the state’s Commissioner for Health, Jide Idris, while briefing journalists on the occasion of the World AIDS Day. Mr Idris said Lagos has about 12 per cent of the national estimate of People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), quoting the result of a national survey conducted by the federal government. “The sentinel surveys carried out in Lagos has confirmed a steady, though inconsistent, increase in the number of HIV infected people,” he said. Though the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) claimed, on its website, that about 2.98 million people are living with the condition in Nigeria, Lagos’ statistics cannot be stated in figures due to divergent population figures.

Mr Idris, however, noted that the state realized the scourge of HIV/AIDS earlier than any other state and even the federal government by establishing the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency. He also explained that Lagos has higher prevalence cases because the government, shying away from any political interference, has intensified awareness and testing campaign. “Between January and October this year, we have tested more than 115,000 people in our health facilities,” he said. “More than 28,000 pregnant women were tested, out of which 1051 tested positive.” Currently, the state has 56 HIV counseling and testing sites, 40 prevention of mother to child transmission sites, 29 adult anti-retro-viral treatment sites, and 22 pediatrics ART sites.



Mr Idris also said the state, apart from increasing testing and treatment sites, has also protected the rights of PLWHA by enacting a law for the Protection of Persons Living With HIV/AIDS, 2007. “Presently, a lot of sensitization is going on throughout the state and this started in 2009,” he said. “There should be no discrimination at workplaces, public places, no travelling restriction and equal rights with people that are not infected.” He also expressed gratitude to developmental partners (UNICEF, Clinton Foundation, CIDA/WHO) and implementing partners (FHI/GHAIN, IHVN, ALCO, and AFRICARE) “who are committed to this cause along with the state government towards improved access to HIV/AIDS services in the state.”
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CHIEF INNOCENT IKPEOHA says:
December 20, 2010 at 10:59 pm
Our folk have to be very careful out there. I can remember during my last visit to Nigeria in November 2010, a lady graduate of banking and finance confessed to me while we were talking that she never had sex with condom since she was born. This is a lady of 31 years. Imagine what kind of deseases she’s carying.



So let us keep on educating them on the dangers of unprotected sex. This is making me sick to my stomach.
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ifyalways: Nothing for fans and stalkers

afam4eva:
What a moronic dingbat. When did "Idiabeta" become an Igbo name? You must be a better-1diat.

Martin was caught on videotape in August 2009 throwing her crutches into a car and running in high heels to meet her boyfriend at a public park, where she took part in a sex act that doctors concluded she couldn't have done with an injured ankle, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.