JOE EFFIONG, UYO
People living with HIV/AIDS, (PLWA) in Akwa Ibom State, have appealed to the state governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, to sign into law a bill prohibiting all forms of discrimination against them.
The state house of assembly has since September 2021 passed into law “Bill for a law to Prohibit Stigmatization and Discrimination Against People Living with HIV/AIDS and to Regulate the Practice of HIV/AIDS Counseling and Testing and for other Matters Connected therewith” which sought to protect the rights and dignity of persons living with HIV /AIDS.
According to the house the new law will eliminate all forms of stigmatization and discrimination against persons living with HIV/ AIDS and create a supportive environment for the people with HIV/ AIDS to work under normal conditions for as long as they are medically fit.
Three months after its passage, there has been no assent from the governor, raising the fears that the law may be discarded like many other which have been passed by the assembly but denied executive assent in the past six years.
Speaking at the press conference to mark the World AIDS Day yesterday, the state co-ordinator of PLWA, Nkechi Udoh, lamented that the lack of assent to the law has continued to subject them to all manner of discrimination and stigmatization, including marital, occupational and even political segregation in the society.
She said with the law in place, people would have been more sensitized to know their rights and make maximum use of it.
“The excos are to implement the law; but we won’t keep waiting for them. Let’s disseminate this information because ignorance to the law is not an excellent excuse.”
The project manager of Akwa Ibom State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Dr Igbemi Igbemi, said the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS in Akwa Ibom can be sustained and saved if everyone takes actionable steps, and acquire appropriate knowledge towards HIV epidemic control.
Igbemi also explained that “it is our responsibility to create more awareness, take the right actions, protect and not stigmatize those affected by this virus.”
At thhe symposium, earlier held to commemorate the Day, the special assistant to the governor on donors and multi-lateral agency Mr Dianabasi Udom had said that the major need towards having zero HIV/AIDs cases in 2030 is not just financing, but that the finance must be sustained.
He said “I have taken note of everything discussed today, and I will do my very best to convey the message to His Excellency the governor. In all this, It is my wish that we will have a state free from HIV stigmatization and free from everything negative”.
The lead paper presenter, Dr. Anyiekere Ekanem emphasized on leveraging on the basic health care provision funds to improve the primary health centres, especially the ones located in the rural communities, as low or no access to health care vaccines and information is a major problem in these areas.
“We may not be on track to ending AIDS in 2030, but certain strategies like funding health care services can put us back on track” Anyiekere said.