By FREDRICK OKOPIE & ELIZABETH NANTAH
IN 1988 the United Nations declared December 1st every year as World AIDS Day, WAD. Since then, it has become an annual event all over the world.

Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc and the United Nations celebrate this year’s event with fanfare at the company’s Dockyard premises in Apapa with the theme: “Getting to Zero”.

The company’s top management, senior and junior staff  came enmass in a rally to sensitise and campaign on how to manage the disease.
Speaking at the event, Group Managing Director, Chief E.A.Ukpabi  said it is important to win the war against HIV/AIDS. The campaign, he said is a reminder of the need to bring the dreaded disease to “Zero Level” by preventing new infections, eradicating discrimination. “This is the goal of the UN and Flour Mills of Nigeria is also committed to achieving this goal,” he informed.

According to Chief Ukpabi, there are 3.3 million people living with HIV virus by the end of 2009 and approximately 220,000 people died from AIDS at the end of the same year in Nigeria. People in the age bracket of 15-49 years, who form our productive force are the most affected.

This gives cause for concern for the continued survival of our nation and the human capital needs of our industries. With AIDS claiming so many lives, Nigeria’s life expectancy has declined significantly. In 1991 the average life expectancy was 54 years for women and 53 years for men. In 2009 these figures has fallen to 48 for women and 46 for men.

As part of its social responsibility, Flour Mills has partnered with Society for Family Health, a non-governmental agency to set up four HIV test centres. The centres, Ukpabi informed would be adequately manned by professionals to enable the public under go HIV test with minimal delay and at their convenience.

Said he: “In the last one year, our company has trained 90 Peer Educators, organized HIV/AIDS awareness programmes for over 700 employees, and about 120 of them are participating in voluntary counseling and testing with the assurance of confidentiality and medical treatment for those who may test positive.”

Speaking on discrimination of HIV/AIDS, an HIV positive lady (name withheld) educated participants on how best to live with the disease. She informed participants the the disease could be contacted even at the hairdresser’s salon. She therefore cautioned on the use of sharp and unsterilised objects. She warned against discrimination and stressed on the need for those who cannot abstinent to practice safe sex by ensuring they are protected.