Action Against AIDS In Nigeria
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Reports from ONE staff who recently returned from Ghana and Nigeria are still coming in, and today Aaron Banks talks about their visit to an AIDS clinic in the Nigerian capital of Lagos. Click here to read more about this ongoing series on the ONE Blog.
America’s response to global AIDS is saving lives and we got to see that up-close during our visit to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (known as LASUTH) in Lagos, Nigeria. LASUTH is a leading HIV/AIDS facility in Nigeria and it helps coordinate HIV/AIDS treatment across Nigeria.
Nigeria is a target country under PEPFAR (The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), an initiative to combat global HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Since it was announced in 2003, PEPFAR has put 2.1 people on lifesaving antiretroviral treatment, provided 10.1 million people with care, and provided 57 million people with testing and counseling services, to name a few of this amazing program’s successes. ONE members were an important part of the movement to reauthorize and expand these efforts to stop HIV/AIDS in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries, and in July of last year, President Bush signed the five year reauthorization, committing $48 billion to combat not only HIV/AIDS, but also malaria and TB, while building health systems capacities and workforces in targeted countries.
At LASUTH, we met doctors, nurses, administrators and support staff who in a few short years of working with PEPFAR and the Harvard School of Public Health, have transformed AIDS treatment at their clinic in the hospital and at secondary and tertiary sites across Nigeria.
Our tour took us to a lab, housing state-of-the-art testing equipment that is being used to accurately diagnose HIV and save lives. Watch Dr. Ekong and Dr. Akanmu from LASUTH talk about the impact of PEPFAR funding on HIV testing and diagnosis in Nigeria.
Afterwards, I spoke with ONE’s Zita Lloyd about the effects this PEPFAR-funded testing is having on HIV-related infant and child mortality.
After visiting the clinic’s pharmacy and seeing the software they use to track patient health and adherence, we had the opportunity to hear from Saiau Ahmed, an AIDS patient and leader of LASUTH’s patient support group. His words are an inspiring reminder of the incredible progress being made in the fight against this global killer.
-Aaron Banks
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The ONE Blog is a daily log of the anti-poverty movement. The site is operated by ONE staff, with frequent contributions from volunteers, members and partner organizations.
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March 18, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Thanks for all of these extraordinary videos from the ONE trip to Ghana and Nigeria. I think that they really demonstrate the tremendously POSITIVE effect that PEPFAR has had in stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa and highlights WHY PEPFAR NEEDS FULL FUNDING to continue its great work in this area.
Great also to finally see & hear from Zita Lloyd who has been our movement since the early days with DATA in London and who continues to give her all AS ONE for Africa. Thanks Zita for all that you have done & continue to do for the world’s poorest people.
Finally, what can be said about the Nigerian man’s testimony about the critical role that PEPFAR has in his life? It is one of the most moving testimonials that I have ever seen/heard. Only ONE’s dear friend & AIDS activist in Uganda, Agnes Nyamayarwo, could say it as good as this man has said it:
without PEPFAR, millions of Africans would be dead and millions more would be on their way.
With PEPFAR, they have a chance at making a decent life for themselves & their families, their communites and their countries…. and stable governments in Africa is in the USA’s best security interest as well as being the right thing to do.
I am going to be sharing that last video with as many people as possible so that we can broaden our base of support amongst the American people.
I am very proud to be with all of you as ONE.
All the Best, debbie
http://www.mpwn-uganda.org
May 11, 2009 at 10:02 am
I think there is a mix up between LUTH and LASUTH. they are different institutions. The reporter probably visited LUTH. The DRs mentioned work in LUTH.
lasuth is doing great with HIV patients with the support of the IHVN.
thanks
October 1, 2009 at 1:56 am
I am looking for a woman who in November 2005 received an award. Her name is Ennes Littvell. I think that is the right spelling of her last name. Please if someone knows who she is please let me know.
Thank you, Patti email me at silvercityre@aol.com