CSO Decry Worsening HIV Prevalence In Kogi
A Civil Society Organization (CSO), Sustainable Mechanism for Improving Livelihood and Household Empowerment (SMILE Project), has decried the prevalence of the dreaded Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Kogi State.
The state Coordinator, of SMILE Project, Mr. Kehinde Arowosegbe, on Tuesday in Lokoja, during an advocacy workshop organized for ministries, departments and agencies of governments (MDGs) on the “Right of Children, their Welfare and their Protection from Every Form of Abuse”, said that location makes it more vulnerable to the scourge.
According to him: “Kogi is the only state that shares boundary with nine others, including the FCT”.
He said that against the misgivings that HIV pandemic has reduced, it has not abated, despite efforts much has been to curtail its prevalence.
He said that the SMILE Project team is working hard to sensitize the public on the need to tackle the HIV epidermic, because when the parents die the society would be left to carter for a retinue of orphans.
He explained that Obajana in Lokoja Local Government host to the biggest cement factory in Africa is situated is in the lead in the incidence of HIV prevalence.
“Because of inter border transmission of the disease, Kogi is vulnerable. If we don’t tackle it now, it will affect many children, as the activities of trailer drivers at their park will have a multiplier effect”.
He added, “Thank God for the Child Right Act in Nigeria, which was signed into law in 2002 and it was domesticated and signed into law in Kogi State in 2009.
“Children are being abused, their rights being denied them. It could be sexual abuse or harassment”.
He commended Kogi, “being one of the few states in Nigeria that has functional Family Court system.
“In other states, children languish in prisons, which are not meant for them. This is because they don’t have the proper courts that are meant for them. Kogi is having family courts in more than 10 local governments.
“Such Juvenile courts are all over the state, making it easy for cases relating to children to easily be dispensed with”, he said.
The permanent secretary, ministry of women affairs and social development, Mr. Aiyedero Jethro said it is disheartening to note that there is high rate of child abuse in the state.
He challenged parents, stakeholders and caregivers not to fold their arms and watch the social ill increase, and called for more collaboration and synergy on ways of protecting” every child in Kogi State.
(The Nation)
The state Coordinator, of SMILE Project, Mr. Kehinde Arowosegbe, on Tuesday in Lokoja, during an advocacy workshop organized for ministries, departments and agencies of governments (MDGs) on the “Right of Children, their Welfare and their Protection from Every Form of Abuse”, said that location makes it more vulnerable to the scourge.
According to him: “Kogi is the only state that shares boundary with nine others, including the FCT”.
He said that against the misgivings that HIV pandemic has reduced, it has not abated, despite efforts much has been to curtail its prevalence.
He said that the SMILE Project team is working hard to sensitize the public on the need to tackle the HIV epidermic, because when the parents die the society would be left to carter for a retinue of orphans.
He explained that Obajana in Lokoja Local Government host to the biggest cement factory in Africa is situated is in the lead in the incidence of HIV prevalence.
“Because of inter border transmission of the disease, Kogi is vulnerable. If we don’t tackle it now, it will affect many children, as the activities of trailer drivers at their park will have a multiplier effect”.
He added, “Thank God for the Child Right Act in Nigeria, which was signed into law in 2002 and it was domesticated and signed into law in Kogi State in 2009.
“Children are being abused, their rights being denied them. It could be sexual abuse or harassment”.
He commended Kogi, “being one of the few states in Nigeria that has functional Family Court system.
“In other states, children languish in prisons, which are not meant for them. This is because they don’t have the proper courts that are meant for them. Kogi is having family courts in more than 10 local governments.
“Such Juvenile courts are all over the state, making it easy for cases relating to children to easily be dispensed with”, he said.
The permanent secretary, ministry of women affairs and social development, Mr. Aiyedero Jethro said it is disheartening to note that there is high rate of child abuse in the state.
He challenged parents, stakeholders and caregivers not to fold their arms and watch the social ill increase, and called for more collaboration and synergy on ways of protecting” every child in Kogi State.
(The Nation)
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