{"id":3173,"date":"2026-08-09T07:16:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T06:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=3173"},"modified":"2026-08-09T21:14:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T20:14:56","slug":"deltas-hiv-cases-rise-above-51000-acomin-demands-urgent-intervention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=3173","title":{"rendered":"Delta’s HIV Cases Rise Above 51,000, ACOMIN Demands Urgent Intervention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

Civil society organisations have called for urgent and coordinated action to address the rising HIV burden in Delta State, where more than 51,000 people 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 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 placed Delta State second only to Benue in the number of people living with HIV among Nigeria’s states, warning that the situation required a collective response beyond government efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He called for stronger collaboration among federal and state agencies, private organisations, foreign 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 testing would encourage early detection, improve treatment outcomes and reduce the spread of the virus in communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Stephanie, a nursing student in Delta State, described the rising number of cases as \u201cscary,\u201d expressing concern that many people do not take the time to know their partners\u2019 HIV status before engaging in sexual activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s scary because a lot of people do not check their partners\u2019 status before having sex, and this can contribute to the continued spread of the disease,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She urged individuals to take HIV testing seriously and to prioritise responsible sexual health practices, stressing that knowing one\u2019s status could help reduce the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sifo said HIV prevention and treatment could no longer be left to the public sector alone, stressing the need for stronger partnerships among federal and state agencies, private organisations, foreign development partners and individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sifo said ACOMIN had previously supported the Ogbeobi Health Centre in Okpanam with medical supplies and HIV test kits, adding that the organisation was committed to strengthening its partnership with the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He disclosed that ACOMIN would seek a meeting with the Chairman of Oshimili North Local Government Area, Innocent Esewezie, to explore ways of establishing a stronger partnership on healthcare delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

Responding, Chief Okafor pledged to mobilise prominent sons and daughters of Okpanam, particularly those working in the healthcare sector abroad, to support the community with HIV test kits and other medical supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The monarch also promised to brief the local government chairman on the visit and commended ACOMIN for engaging directly with communities in its healthcare advocacy efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Sifo also raised concerns about the shortage of nurses and other healthcare workers in primary healthcare centres across the 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 was a statewide challenge and called on local government councils to support the state government in addressing the staffing gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

By Peace Samuel Civil society organisations have called for urgent and coordinated action to address the rising HIV burden 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), Pastor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":25,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,14],"tags":[33,677,28],"class_list":["post-3173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthcorner","category-trendingnews","tag-health","tag-hiv","tag-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3173","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\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3173"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3229,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3173\/revisions\/3229"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}