‘How TACA reduced HIV prevalence in Taraba’

Recent reduction in the prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Taraba State from 10.5 per cent to 2.9 per cent would not have been possible without the support of the state government and partners.

Disclosing this yesterday while hosting the newly elected members of the Coalition of Civil Society on HIV/ AIDS in Nigeria (CISHAN), Executive Director of Taraba State Agency for the Control of AIDS (TACA), Dr. Garba Danjuma, said the result should not be excused to go to sleep.

Taraba used to be among the states with the highest prevalence of the virus and first in the North-East geo-political zone.

According to the TACA director, casual sex and mother-to-child transmission of the virus have continued to threaten the fight against the virus, hence he urged members of the coalition to go extra legitimate miles in sensitising stakeholders on the need to discourage bi-sexual sex in the state.

He believes that if intending couples are made to go for HIV test three months before engagement, the spread of the disease will reduce.

IN another development, Zik Sunday, who represented Taraba North in the senate; Mustapha Nuhu, an Imam serving the state’s police command; and a village head have been kidnapped.

The Guardian gathered that they were kidnapped in the early hours of Sunday and their whereabouts were yet to be ascertained as at press time.

A community leader told The Guardian that the residents had resorted to the use of vigilante since government and security operatives seem to have failed in their responsibilities.

One Mallam Yakubu Saidu, in a telephone chat, told our reporter that the gunmen numbering over 20, on arrival, surrounded the village and began to shoot sporadically.

“The gunmen forced their way into the former senator’s house and abducted him to an unknown location,” Yakubu revealed, adding that the abductors had not contacted the family of the former lawmaker.

Other villages also invaded by the kidnappers, according to Yakubu, include Dogon Yeli, Kumuyel and Lallah (where the village head was abducted).

While confirming the report, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), David Misal, said that the command was working round the clock to affect the victim’s release and track down the bandits.