HIV/AIDS positive patients yesterday marched on the Abuja office of the National Agency for Control of Aids, NACA to protest the non-availability of antiretroviral drugs in hospitals and other care centres across the country.
The patients besieged the office before staff of NACA resumed work, blocking the main entrance to the office of Professor John Doko, the Director-General, of NACA, thereby stopping him and the other workers from entering their offices.
The protesters carried placards and some sleeping materials, indicating that they were determined to stay in the NACA office as long as necessary.
The protesters gathered under the aegis of Network of People Living With HIV/AIDS.
They are also protesting about diminishing funding for HIV/AIDS programmes by international development partners as well as non-implementation of the Comprehensive Response Plan, a scheme launched by President Jonathan address the problems of access to antiretroviral drugs.
Sumaila Garba who spoke to journalists on behalf of the protesters said they are determined lock up NACA office for 25 days. According to him, the group want government to come out with specific plan for the funding of antiretroviral drugs which he said lives of members of the group depends on.
He also said there should be transparency in the disbursements of funds already set aside for the purchase of HIV/AIDS drugs by government to prevent corruption.
Sumaila said his group had met many times with the DG of NACA without receiving any concrete assurance on the issues before it embarked on Monday’s protest.
“We met with the DG on Friday. Our plan was that anytime they are planning anything for us, they should plan with us. We have met with the DG severally,” he told said.
Prof. Idoko appealed to the protesters that their grievances are already being looked into.
But the protesters have refused to bulge as at the time of writing this story as they have vowed to remain at the NACA office until there is a concrete response to their demands.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that the DG of NACA had left for the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to confer with him over the issue.
