Access Bank, others leverage Lagos marathon to sensitise Nigerians on HIV, NTDS
On the side- lines of the Lagos marathon exercise which took place last Saturday, Access Bank in collaboration with the Nigeria Business Coalition Against AIDS (NIBUCAA), Hacey Health and ENDFund, sensitised Nigerians on HIV and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDS).
Over 3,000 attendees were sensitised on best practices to manage their health and wellbeing as well as received the free HIV test and counselling as part of the outreach.
“The marathon has brought together thousands of people which provide the right platform for us to utilize and advocate issues of significant health impact or challenge,” said Omobolanle Victor-laniyan, head of sustainability, corporate communications, Access Bank.
“You may be aware that about 53,000 people die of HIV in Nigeria. There is a need to bring down this figure if possible to zero,” she said.
“There is a need to prevent new infections and for people to get tested to know their status and get treatment. I do not know of any other platform that gives us access to such a huge number of people to achieve this purpose,” she added.
Also speaking during the sensitisation programme, Rhoda Robinson, executive director, HACEY Health Initiative, said that the partners distributed free condoms to the over 3,000 people that attended the marathon exercise.
“The sensitisation programme is about providing the general public the information to continuously prevent HIV infection and for those who are positive for them to stick with their ARC treatment so that they achieve virus suppression,” Robinson said.
“HACEY Health Initiative has been working with Access bank for the past four to five years in ensuring and promoting HIV testing and counselling. We connect those who are tested positive to different centers and we have reached over 10,000 people through our messages over the years,” she added.
Participants at the marathon exercise were also sensitised on a group of parasitic and infectious diseases such as river blindness, lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), trachoma, intestinal worms and schistosomiasis (Snail Fever).
Globally, NTDS has affected over 1.7 billion people in low income and developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas, so, there is need for awareness on prevention and control, experts say.
“About 40 percent of sufferers of NTDS are in Africa. Access Bank has generously given us the platform to spread the word on END disease to talk about preventing this disease that is easily preventable and treatable and we are very appreciative of this.” Oyetola Oduyemi, Africa regional adviser, ENDFUND said.
Similarly, Gbenga Alabi, executive secretary, NIBUCAA said that Access Bank has created the opportunity for his organisation to latch on the event to provide Nigerians with free HIV testing services.
“The national population is 1.4 but then a lot of Nigerians are yet to know their status. So we are using this opportunity to encourage people to know their HIV status by participating in the free testing services,” Alabi said.