A new National HIV/AIDS Prevention Plan released by the Federal Government has stipulated compulsory HIV test before marriage in both Christian and Muslim religions.
The Director of Bauchi State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, TB, Leprosy and Malaria, Dr. Yakubu Abubakar, who revealed this on Monday in Abuja during the National Prevention Plan Validation meeting, said it was to prevent new infections and curb further spread of the scourge.
According to him, there is an improvement in the new HIV Prevention Plan, as it had the inputs of local communities and stakeholders in the states and at national level, while taking into consideration the peculiarities of each state.
He said, “From the experiences of the past plan, we realised that there were variations from state to state in terms of prevalence rate, in terms of mode of transmission at state levels, in terms of culture and in terms of approach to HIV prevention.”
Abubakar added that the major prevention was “the participation of the major religious so as to ensurie that no marriage takes place except HIV test has taken place and confirmed by the leaders.
Also in her remarks, the Chief Programme Officer, Prevention, Social and Behaviour Change Communication at the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Uduak Daniel, added that the difference between the last prevention plan and the recent one is that the new one has the engagement of the people in the local communities.
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