The Rivers State Government has improved efforts in the fight against HIV with the launch of a Pharmacy-Based HIV Service Delivery Initiative which seeks to increase access to treatment and preventive services across the state.
This was highlighted in a statement released by Ednah Alete the Public Relations Officer to the Rivers State Ministry of Health on Saturday.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Health, Dr. Vincent Wachukwu, disclosed this while declaring open the official launch of the initiative in the state.
Wachukwu, who was represented by the Acting Director of Medical Services, Dr. Hope Avunda, described the programme as a progressive stride in the state’s public health agenda.
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The Permanent Secretary said the initiative would help use the vast network of pharmacies available in the state to decentralize HIV services and bring treatment and preventive care closer to people.
According to him, the program will further boost the capacity of the health system to deliver equitable, timely and confidential HIV services to all Nigerians in the state.
He stated that the initiative was a demonstration of the commitment of the state government to deliver on its pledge of universal health coverage and end HIV epidemic in Rivers State.
Wachukwu, meanwhile, stated that the government was committed to ensuring that every inhabitant in the state had access to life-saving HIV treatment and preventive services.
He stated that the launch of the initiative was to drive expansion of HIV treatment and prevention through community pharmacies in Rivers State.
Speaking earlier, the Head of Procurement and Supply Chain Management, National AIDS, Viral Hepatitis and STI Control Programme, Pharmacist Mohammed Ibrahim Patiko, said the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare was fully behind the initiative.
Patiko stated that the initiative was meant to drive HIV services to the community level so that more persons would have access to treatment and preventive services.
He said the Federal Government, through its implementing partners, was willing to partner in interventions that would increase the uptake of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis in Nigeria and improve the country’s HIV response.
