From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Kano State Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Labaran, Friday, disclosed that 4738 had tested positive for HIV in Kano State in the last 11 months.
The Commissioner spoke on Friday while delivering a speech at a lecture organised by the government and its partners to mark the HIV/AIDS Day in the state.
He explained that the positive cases were part of a total of 138,430 that were tested for the infection in the state from January to date.
He added that the state has improved in halting its mother-to-child transmission rate by successfully conducting test for 95 percent of all pregnant women during their first ANC visit, out of which only 0.04 percent were found positive.
“We have successfully initiated new 4,140 HIV-infected persons on ART from January 2023 to date” he stated while noting that ” Currently the state has 46,732 people living with HIV receiving treatment” he added.
Earlier, the Director General of the State Agency for Control of AIDS (SACA) Dr Usman Bashir said SACA has brought on board 600 persons living with AIDS to benefit from the free healthcare service package introduced by the state government.