Ondo State Plans To Fight HIV With ‘Condom in Rooms' Law

About 800,000 residents in Ondo state were screened for Human Immuno Virus (HIV) on Tuesday, December 1, as the state government expresses the determination to enforce the law promulgated to check the virus in the state.

Dr. Aderotimi Adelola, the secretary to the state government and chairman, Ondo State Agency for the Control of AIDS (ODSACA), stated this while addressing journalists during a condom use and safer sex sensitisation exercise to hotels in Akure, as part of activities commemorating the 2015 World AIDS Day.
He said the state government is working towards ensuring there is zero HIV new infection, discrimination and stigmatization of people living with HIV, mother to child transmission and AIDS related death.
The secretary to the state government stated that the agency had embarked on consistent HIV counselling and testing in all nooks and crannies of the state, expansion of HIV counselling and testing centres from three on assumption of office to about 230 centres spread across the state.

He maintained that the state has over the years had successfully articulated policies and programmes to sustain the efforts of the agency in the fight against HIV.
The chairman ODSACA who encouraged the people to know their HIV status observed that the law relating to HIV in the state empowers ODSACA to enforce HIV related laws, as such it is a severe offence for hoteliers not to put condom packs in their rooms in order to promote safer sex, reduce the spread of the virus, while noting that the agency will not hesitate to persecute defaulters.
Dr. Adedayo Adegbulu, the project manager, ODSACA in his contribution noted that HIV is not a death sentence, adding that as such, care and support must be given to people living with the virus.

He said with HIV education now being  inculcated in the secondary school curriculum, youth will be encouraged on abstinence, increase their awareness about HIV  and advice them to further spread the campaign in the homes and among peers.
Two weeks ago, a report was made public, where it was revealed that Rivers state, with a 15.2% prevalence rate, is the state with the highest level of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.
This was detailed in a report on the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate published by the National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA) and some tests carried out on people living with HIV/AIDS.