{"id":2457,"date":"2026-07-28T09:37:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T08:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=2457"},"modified":"2026-07-28T09:37:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T08:37:37","slug":"deltas-hiv-cases-rise-above-51000-as-acomin-demands-urgent-intervention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=2457","title":{"rendered":"Delta’s HIV Cases Rise Above 51,000 As ACOMIN Demands Urgent Intervention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Samuel Peace <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Civil society organisations have called for urgent and coordinated action to address the rising burden of HIV in Delta State, where more than 51,000 people<\/strong> are reportedly living with the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The call was made by the Delta State Coordinator of the Civil Society Organisation on Malaria Control, Immunisation and Nutrition (ACOMIN), Pastor Gregory Sifo, during a courtesy visit to the palace of the Ikejani-Enyi of Okpanam, Chief Felix Okafor, in Oshimili North Local Government Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sifo said the figure places Delta State second only to Benue in the number of people living with HIV among Nigeria’s states, warning that the situation requires a collective response beyond government efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He called for stronger collaboration among federal and state agencies, private organisations, international development partners, and individuals to expand HIV testing and treatment programmes across the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to him, increasing access to HIV testing would encourage early detection, improve treatment outcomes, and reduce the spread of the virus within communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rising number of cases has also generated concern among young people, particularly students, who expressed fears about the continued spread of HIV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephanie, a nursing student in Delta State, described the increasing number of infections as “scary,” expressing concern that many people do not know their partners’ HIV status before engaging in sexual activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s scary because a lot of people do not check their partners’ status before having sex, and this can contribute to the continued spread of the disease,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She urged individuals to take HIV testing seriously and to prioritize responsible sexual health practices, stressing that knowing one’s HIV status could help reduce the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sifo reiterated that HIV prevention and treatment could no longer be left to the public sector alone, emphasizing the need for stronger partnerships among government agencies, private organisations, international partners, and individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He disclosed that ACOMIN had previously supported the Ogbeobi Health Centre in Okpanam with medical supplies and HIV test kits, adding that the organisation remains committed to strengthening healthcare delivery within the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to him, ACOMIN plans to meet with the Chairman of Oshimili North Local Government Area, Innocent Esewezie, to explore opportunities for collaboration aimed at improving healthcare services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ACOMIN coordinator identified increased HIV testing, improved healthcare infrastructure, and the recruitment of more trained health workers as the organisation’s immediate priorities in Delta State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He cited the recent upgrade of the Obodogba Primary Healthcare Centre into a cottage hospital as an example of the type of healthcare improvement that could be replicated across other communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responding, Chief Felix Okafor pledged to mobilize prominent sons and daughters of Okpanam, particularly healthcare professionals in the diaspora, to support the community with HIV test kits and other medical supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The traditional ruler also promised to brief the local government chairman on ACOMIN’s visit and commended the organisation for engaging directly with communities through its healthcare advocacy programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Sifo raised concerns over the shortage of nurses and other healthcare workers in primary healthcare centres across Delta State during a visit to the Delta State Local Government Service Commission in Asaba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Director of Nursing Services at the commission, Mrs. Patricia Enagoma, confirmed that a formal request for the recruitment of additional nursing personnel had been forwarded to the state government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enagoma acknowledged that the shortage of healthcare workers is a statewide challenge and called on local government councils to support the state government’s efforts to address the staffing gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Samuel Peace Civil society organisations have called for urgent and coordinated action to address the rising burden of HIV in Delta State, where more than 51,000 people are reportedly living with the virus. The call was made by the Delta State Coordinator of the Civil Society Organisation on Malaria Control, Immunisation and Nutrition (ACOMIN), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":11,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,14],"tags":[679,680,327,677],"class_list":["post-2457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthcorner","category-trendingnews","tag-acomin","tag-aids","tag-delta","tag-hiv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2457"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2460,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457\/revisions\/2460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}