Kebbi partners foreign firm to tackle HIV, others

The Kebbi Government has entered into a partnership with an international pharmaceutical company, Johnson and Johnson, to bolster the ongoing fight against HIV, improve mental health and oncology.

Mallam Yahaya Sarki, Special Adviser to Gov. Atiku Bagudu on Media, said in a statement, in Birnin Kebbi on Tuesday that the governor disclosed this in Birnin Kebbi at the opening of a 4-day training workshop on HIV management, mental health and oncology for Kebbi health workers.

He said that the partnership would provide an opportunity to the state to boost ongoing efforts to turn the tide against the HIV scourge, and facilitate further research, innovations and treatment of patients.

Bagudu said: “We will learn more from each other, exchange knowledge and share it a lot.

“Knowledge is not the exclusive preserve of any group of person or persons, it can be shared.”

He observed that the partnership would provide opportunities for internships by students as well as collaboration with researchers .

Earlier, the Commissioner for Health, Jaafar Muhammad said the workshop was aimed at giving further training to improve the knowledge of healthcare workers for better service delivery in the state.

“The workshop can help improve the capacity of our healthcare workers so that they can improve quality services at our health facilities,” he said.

Prof. Oche Agbaji, a Consultant and HIV Specialist from Jos University Teaching Hospital, gave an update on the use of Protease Inhibitors in the Management of Treatment Failures.