9,660 tested HIV positive in Lagos within one year

The Lagos State Government yesterday disclosed that 9, 660 residents of the state tested positive to HIV virus of the 102,279 patients examined in the last one year. The government also said 431 healthcare facilities across the state would be shut for contravening the state healthcare standards. The state government, however, said it was impossible to  guarantee total free healthcare services for the over 18 million residents of the state, noting: “There is no adequate fund to provide the services.”

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, who disclosed these during the 2013 ministerial briefing on the activities of his ministry to commemorate the sixth year of Governor Babatunde Fashola’s administration, said to prevent the increase in HIV virus, the state government through the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency, LASACA, distributed 520,000 male and female condoms across the state.

The commissioner also said the state government has established HIV/AIDS counseling and testing centers in health facilities across the state, a measure to check the prevalence of the scourge within the state.