Oyo remains committed to health for all

Oyo State government said it was prioritising primary health care services in a bid to take care of the basic needs of everyone in the state.

Oyo State Health Commissioner, Dr Azeez Adeduntan said this at the launch of the PACF/ENHANCE project to eliminate new HIV infections among Nigerian children by empowering mothers and women with disabilities to access reproductive health and PMTCT services in Oyo and Osun States.

Adeduntan, who said that Oyo State  cardinal focus for health remains primary health care delivery, declared that the state’s government health agenda was all inclusive of persons with disability.

The Commissioner for health, saying that disability is not a death sentence, assured of his tenure’s open door policy to ensure health for all.

Adeduntan said Oyo State government is also making available necessary drugs and medicines to treat HIV free of charge.

While assuring that HIV was no more a death sentence, he assured of his continuous support to the well being of people with disability in the state.

Earlier, Executive Director, PLAN foundation, Mr Obatunde Oladapo, said that the project was targeting at least 18,000 direct beneficiaries comprising women with disability, women with HIV and rural women of childbearing age in five local governments respectively in Oyo and Osun States.

According to him, 125 mentor mothers were trained and engaged to reduce loss to followup among women and children accessing PMTCT services by providing information, counselling and support on PMTCT for their peers and male partners.

He said that the mentor mothers will be linking target beneficiaries to sexual, reproductive health information, services and commodities through their groups and associations.

Oladapo, who remarked that disability and HIV were associated with stigma, said at base line of this project, many health services sidelined women with disability.

That the country can attain zero cases of new HIV cases, Oladapo declared would therefore entail programmes on sexual, and reproductive health, HIV, STI, Family planning services targeting also persons with disability, which he said constitute 10 to 15 per cent of the society.