IHVN trains journalists, advocates more efforts to fight against HIV/TB
By Punarimam Fehintola
The Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) trained health reporters on current Human Immunodeficiency Virus(HIV),Tuberculosis (TB) issues and calls for collaborative efforts in the fight against these diseases.
At the one day seminar in Abuja, journalists were trained on HIV prevention, treatment, maintaining virological suppression and TB drug resistant.
Featured presentations from different facilitators which includes Head of Gupta Laboratory London, Prof. Ravindra Gupta, Head of Department IHVN amongst others.
IHVN Director/Head of Department, Dr. Ernest Ekong made this call during his opening remark on the 25th of April 2019.
He stated that ” As of December 2015, over 516,025 patients received care and support for HIV/AIDS and 392,544 receives drugs and treatment under this project .
The media is an important instrument in relaying messages to the public , there is a need to organize more campaigns in sensitizing the public and everyone has to be Involved. we urge the Federal Government to disburse more fund in ending these diseases.”
Prof . Ravindra Gupta, who is currently researching on the world’s second HIV cure by stem transplant, said
“HIV and cancer are curable diseases in some ways .you can never prove that it is gone completely. You can say you have survived your remission for five or ten years and it this discovery has opened doors for tissue and stem cells engineering so we can change proteins now, but of course there are many challenges in realizing this”.
