The Kano State Agency for the Control of Aids said 20,822 patients had benefited in its free drugs programme in 12 local government areas in the state.
Director-General of the agency, Dr Usman Bashir, made this known on Saturday in Kano while receiving the programme’s report from the Coordinator, Dr Ashiru Rajab.
He said that the drugs were distributed through the agency’s Multi-Disease Medical Outreach, adding that the local government areas covered were Kura, Gezawa, Dawakin-Tofa, Bichi and the eight metropolitan councils in Kano city.
Bashir said that the beneficiaries comprised 6,780 males and 14,042 females.
He commended the councils’ chairmen and traditional rulers in the areas for supporting the programme.
He expressed delight that the people in the state had embraced the programme through logistics support and impressive turnout.
The director-general said that the objective of the programme had been achieved, pointing out that People Living With HIV (PLWH), hypertension and diabetes were identified and referred to appropriate centres for further management.
Bashir added that patients with minor ailments such as malaria were also treated and provided with medicine free of charge.
He appealed to the people to adopt the culture of regular medical checks, advising that doing so would enable individuals to be aware of their health status.
He thanked the state government for making the just-concluded HIV Development Project II in the state successful.
Presenting the report earlier, Rajab said that the personnel deployed by SACA for the outreach programme did well and that host communities also provided needed cooperation.
