People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) have staged a protest at the Federal Medical Centre in Makurdi over the non-distribution of anti-retroviral drugs to them in the last two months.
The patients who were more than 500 besieged the premises of the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi (FMC) to press for government intervention in the provision of the drugs.
Kasevhemba Aondoakaa, spokesperson of the group, said government has decided to abandon them knowing fully well that they have little chance of living a normal life without the drugs.
According to Aondoakaa, the insensitivity of the government towards their plight has left them with no option than to protest. She said for the past two months no single drug has been given to them and the regular test which they used to do has also been suspended.
“We are being maltreated, they keep telling us that the US Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in Africa (PEPFAR) has withdrawn its sponsorship for the program, we want the president to do something about this issue,” she said.
Petelu Inunduh, head of clinical services, in his reaction said the issue was beyond the hospital management, explaining that the programme was initially handled by AIDS Preventing Initiative in Nigeria (APIN).
He said that as a result of the regionalisation exercise in 2013, the centre was handed over to Centre for Integrated Health Programme (CIHP) by the Centre for Diseases Control(CDC).
“We have over 15,000 patients on ART list and over 27,000 who are also collecting their drugs at our centre. He said FMC is only hosting noting that the programme is currently operating under the Institute of Human Virology of Nigeria (IHVN) but that the marriage has failed to yield positive result.
“Since their takeover, there has been erratic supply of drugs, laboratories regents, and lack of funds to manage the laboratories,” he said.
He disclosed that the management had already held a meeting with stakeholders with the aim of addressing the problem.
Barnes Agirigi
