ODSG distributes materials to vulnerable children
By Josephine Oguntoyinbo
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Ondo State Government has distributed educational materials to 90 Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) of people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS in the state.
The event was organised by the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in collaboration with the Ondo State Agency for the Control of Aids (ODSACA) held at the Babafunke Ajasin auditorium, Igbatoro road, Akure.
In his keynote address, the Secretary to the State Government who doubles as the Chairman ODSACA, Mr. Ifedayo Abegunde informed that the procurement and distribution of the materials was to make life better and meaningful for the vulnerable children and children of people living with HIV in schools in the state so that they will not become agents of destruction in the society in future.
While stating that the problem of HIV/AIDS is a worldwide phenomenon that requires the collective efforts of both government and non-governmental organisations to tackle, he said that vulnerable children and people living with HIV have been experiencing a lot of challenges like abandonment, isolation and neglect by the society.
He noted that stigmatization and discrimination also affected their wards which have resulted into poor school performances and further neglect, saying that the plight of people living with HIV in the state is a major concern for the government.
The SSG who declared that the present government in the state remained committed to eliminating HIV and its consequences added that awareness and mobilisation campaign have been scaled up in addition to the investment in HIV testing, treatment and elimination of mother to child transmission.
Abegunde called for a collective action by all and sundry, regardless of status, religion, age or ethnicity to join hands in tackling the prevalence of HIV in the state.
Earlier in her welcome address, the State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Titi Adeyemi, informed that the support was to complement government efforts in meeting the targets of zero tolerance to HIV/AIDS set by the ODSACA and to also ensure that children of those killed or affected by the scourge were not left out.
“Our intervention in the plights of these children affected by HIV/AIDS had earlier been incorporated into the HIV/AIDS programme to prevent such children from being recruited into thuggery,armed robbery, prostitution and other anti-social vices but rather make them patriotic and productive citizens of the state”, she stressed.
In his keynote address, the Project Manager ODSACA, Dr Dayo Adegbulu affirmed that through the various interventions of the state government in combating the prevalence, HIV/AIDS had drastically reduced.
Also, the state Coordinator of Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria,Mr Adelusi Adesina confirmed that the state is one of the leading states combating HIV/AIDS through the provision of qualitative health care services.
