LSACA SENSITIZES THE DISABLED ON HIV

The Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA) has commenced sensitization of the Deaf and the Blind people in Lagos State on HIV in line with the objective of the State Government towards achieving the 90-90-90 initiative as well as the eradication of the scourge by 2030.

Speaking during an interview with journalists, the Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, Dr. Oluseyi Temowo stated that the awareness campaign/training was necessary for the people with disability to carry them along in policy making, program implementation and other social infrastructural support available, affirming that Lagos State government is ahead of others in attending to the needs of people living with disability.

While noting that the programme was first of its kind nationally for the Deaf and the Blind communities, he informed that for the blind to be fully carried along based on the government of inclusiveness in Lagos State, materials to enlighten individuals with disability were transcribed into braille for the blind people to read and better understand the campaign messages of the Agency.

The Chief Executive Officer explained that the programme was divided into five batches of 50 participants per batch and done in collaboration with the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA), the Lagos State Association of the Deaf (LSAD) and the Lagos State branch of the Nigerian Association of the Blind (NAB).

Dr. Temowo reiterated that the programme aimed at deterring people living with disability from unprotected sex to reduce their exposure to the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including HIV/AIDS.

He said stigmatization remained a major factor preventing the deaf to seek medical help, social support in combating their health challenges, employment, legal and social aid thereby making them resort to self-help which further enhanced their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS infection.

He averred that low self-esteem, lack of appropriate legal framework made lots of deaf women to silently endure dehumanizing conditions of sexual and domestic violence without redress, hence the need to educate them about the Basic Facts on HIV, mode of Transmission and Prevention, Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT), Universal Safety Precautions and how to negotiate for safe sex through the use of condoms amongst other methods.