Thousands
of despondent Nigerians living in IDP camps - North-eastern part of
Nigeria have been discovered to be living with the deadly HIV/AIDS
virus.
File Photo
No fewer than 5, 000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in 27
camps in embattled Borno state in northeast Nigeria are currently living
with HIV/AIDS, according to the Vanguard.
Mr Hassan Mustapha, the Coordinator on HIV/AIDS in Borno, said on
Thursday that most of the patients were women who were rescued from
captivity in Boko Haram camps.
The coordinator, however, said that some of those affected were not
effectively accessing anti retroviral therapy because of
stigmatisation. He lamented that many of them had died of the scourge
because they were not properly counselled and sensitised on the need to
enrol under the HIV/AIDS control programme.
“We have more than 1, 000 patients in Bama camp and 3, 000 in
Gwoza camp while over 1, 000 others are taking refuge in the host
communities.
“We have heard of many supporting NGOs in Borno but none of
them has approached us to offer assistance to the IDPs living with the
virus.
“The IDPs living with such ailment are constantly challenged; they do not go out to access drugs.
“Most of them are shy while some are afraid to be identified by others as carriers.
“They sometimes complain to us that they are not allowed to go out of the camp to access drugs in other centres.
“The honest truth is that government is not paying priority attention to the plight of such persons,” said Mustapha.
Menawhile, a movie production company has concluded plans to
feature Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in its forthcoming
Television Reality Show.
Mr Emmanuel Eyaba, the Executive Producer of Virtues and Noble
Touch Nigeria (VNT), who visited some IDPs camps in Abuja on Wednesday
for audition, said that the aim was to give them a new identity. The
audition was done in collaboration with the African Union (AU).
The talent programme tagged; “Unleash Your Creativity’’ also known
as “UUC Nigeria’’, is aimed at creating a platform for young adults
interested in the movie industry to showcase their abilities.
The zonal auditions had been successfully held in Kano, Kaduna, Adamawa, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Lagos.
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