NASG urged to enforce law prohibiting discrimination against HIV/AIDS victims

NAN-H-135

HIV

By Mohammed Baba Busu

Lafia, Feb. 7, 2017(NAN) The Nasarawa State Government has been urged to enforce the law prohibiting all forms of stigmatisation and discrimination against persons living with HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Hidayat Usman, the State Coordinator of UNAIDS, made the call on Tuesday in Lafia, at a Media/Civil Society Organisation/Community interactive, organized by the Society for Family Health, to mark the International Women’s Day.

She noted that the law had been passed and assented to, by Gov. Umaru Tanko-Al-Makura, since 2012, and called for strict adherence to its provisions.

Usman said that two, in every three people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in the state were women, saying that such persons were often stigmatized and openly discriminated against in the society.

“The discrimination is always very open, but no one has been prosecuted,” she said.

Speaking on the theme: “Be Bold for Change”, she said that reducing female vulnerability to the scourge was only possible if socio-economic challenges that promoted gender inequalities were addressed.

She identified the main factors contributing to women’s vulnerability to include lack of education, societal norms, and their generally poor status.

The official charged governments, at all levels, to take proactive measures to address the challenges confronting women and children by implementing policies and laws that would protect their rights and uplift their welfare. (NAN)

BAB/ETS

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Edited by Ephraims Sheyin