HIV/AIDS Test Now Compulsory Before Marriage – FG by

The Federal Government has said testing for HIV/AIDS is
mandatory for intending couples in Nigeria. The plan,
according to government, is to help reduce new infection of
HIV virus in the country.
It added that the decision was binding on followers of all
religions. Our correspondent gathered this from stakeholders
who met to ratify the plan in Abuja yesterday. The team,
comprising National Prevention Plan Validation, emphasised
the decision was taken to prevent new infections and curb
further spread of the disease.
Speaking with reporters at the meeting, Director, Bauchi
State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, TB, Leprosy and
Malaria (BACATMA), Yakubu Abubakar, said there had been
an improvement in the new HIV Prevention Plan in Nigeria.
According to him, the current plan has input of communities
and stakeholders across states of the federation and from
the Federal Government.
“From the experiences of the past plan, we realised that there
were variations from state to state in terms of prevalence
rate, in terms of mode of transmission at state levels, in
terms of culture, and in terms of approach to HIV
prevention,” he said.
For the plan to be successful, Abubakar urged Christian
leaders to ensure no wedding ceremony was conducted by
them without an evidence of HIV/AIDS test by the intending
couples.
Islamic clerics, he stated, were already being sensitised over
the need to comply with the plan. He said: “In Bauchi State, we
realised that in most of the marriages, there is no
confirmation of HIV status. Some people marry more than
once and when they are taking second wife, even if they are
negative, but meet a positive family, or the second or third or
fourth wife is coming with HIV to meet people that were
already negative and are going to become infected.”
According to him, in polygamy, in the present plan, incoming
wife is expected to take the test along with the husband and
other wives already in the house. Responding to what happens
when either of the parties tests positive, Ibrahim said: “At
the programme level, we don’t decide what to do but the
family concerned will sit down and resolve the issue
themselves.”
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