Nigerians deported from Niger begin HIV/AIDS screening

The Yobe State Agency for Control
of HIV/AIDS on Saturday
commenced HIV/AIDS screening for
over 4,000 Nigerian returnees from
Niger Republic, who fled the state
at the wake of insurgency.
Executive Director of the agency,
Hajiya Farida Mamudo, said in
Giedam that the agency found it
necessary to establish returnees
HIV status to check the spread of
the virus.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports
that over 6,000 Nigerians, mostly
inhabitants of Lake Chad, have
returned to the country to pave the
way for military operations against
insurgency.
The order for relocation was given
by the Nigerien authorities.
Mamudo emphasised that some of
the returnees lost their wives and
husbands and might soon remarry
to start a new life.
“Some of you lost your spouses and
may re-marry again.
“It is therefore very important that
you know your status before
remarrying so that those who
tested negative, are not married to
those who tested positive,” she
said.
The director told them that once
they established their status, the
agency would guide them against
the various means of contracting
the virus.
Mamudo said those that tested
positive would be guided on care
and support programmes.
She assured the returnees that the
results of the screening would be
treated with confidentiality and
reminded them that the law on
stigmatisation in Yobe State
attracts two years imprisonment.