By Bashir Mohammed
Kano
Kano state Agency for the Control of AIDS (KSACA), in collaboration with Kano Hisbah Board, will enact a law that would compel prospective couples to undergo HIV screening before marriage.
This was contained in a statement issued the Public Relations officer of KSACA, Usman Gwadabe in Kano yesterday.
According to the statement, the agency’s Director-General, Dr Bashir Usman, made the remark when he led management of the agency on courtesy call to Hisbah board in Kano.
He said, when the proposed law was drafted, the two organisations “will submit it to the House of Assembly through the Ministry of Health for enactment as a law of the state.
Usman explained that the proposal would include screening for sickle cell and hepatitis, adding that the measure would save many lives as well as make the state zero epidemic.
He added that the visit “is also to fashion out ways of partnership in order to address HIV prevalence in the state,” pointing out that KSACA “will take campaign for medical strategy while Hisbah will take care of the spiritual aspect.”
He said the agency was working with many partners on the crusade, adding that “these groups have to be carried along to address key populations and risky behaviours among the citizenry.”
According to him, the agency would organise training for Hisbah paramedical staff to enable them to acquire basic techniques of HIV Testing and Counselling (HTC).
He described the last state mass wedding organised by the board as “a huge success, especially in identifying positive people who were given all necessary support.”
Responding, the Director-General of the board, Dr Abba Sufi, expressed readiness to collaborate with KSACA to address the menace, noting that the increase of HIV patients in the state was alarming.
He said in the last mass wedding some couples were found to be infected with the virus, lamenting that the cases mostly affect teenagers.
He disclosed that some HIV partners used to conduct free testing at the board premises, assuring that the existing mutual understanding between KSACA and the board would be maintained.
