Pascal was a bright young man with promising prospects. However, his dream was almost extinguished when in an attempt at seeking admission he had to travel from the south where he was resident to the northern part of the country. This was because he never met the admission criteria of the southern Universities.
On his journey to the north on resumption, after passing his post-UME, he was involved in a ghastly motor accident. Fortunately, he was rushed to a nearby Hospital where attempts were made to save his life; he was discovered to have lost so much blood that he needed to be transfused. Request was made for a blood group O neg blood from a nearby laboratory which sourced blood from a blood tout (which was only tested three months back when he was NEGATIVE for HIV) and Pascal was saved.
Events took a new turn in his life, when Pascal was found to be POSITIVE to HIV after taking a voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) exercise organized for the new intakes on Campus.
Pascal’s story is one of the numerous cases of people contacting HIV through the transfusion of an infected blood. This wouldn’t have been possible if the blood was sourced from the right sources (such as National Blood Transfusion Services or other standard laboratories).
According to The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), there are now 33.3 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2009 some 2.6 million people became newly infected with the virus and an estimated 1.8 million people died from AIDS.
To increase the awareness for this epidemic disease, December 1st of every year is being set aside to mark the World AIDS day. The theme for this year’s World AIDS day is 'Universal Access and Human Rights'. Global leaders have pledged to work towards universal access to HIV and AIDS treatment, prevention and care, recognizing this as a fundamental human right. Valuable progress has been made in increasing access to HIV and AIDS services, yet greater commitment is needed around the world if the goal of universal access is to be achieved. Millions of people continue to be infected with HIV every year. In low- and middle-income countries, less than half of those in need of antiretroviral therapy (ART) are receiving it, and too many do not have access to adequate care services.
The protection of human rights is fundamental to combating the global HIV and AIDS epidemic. Violations against human rights fuel the spread of HIV, putting the “low strata” people in the society at a higher risk of HIV infection. By promoting individual human rights, new infections can be prevented and people who have HIV can live free from discrimination.
We could all curb the spread of HIV through proactive measures in ensuring an adequate blood supply to our Health institutions based on Voluntary non-remunerated blood donations. Good health policies and economic empowerment can reduce the risk of the “low strata” people in the society.
Join Blood Drive Initiative (BDI) and other organizations in this humanitarian efforts to ensure that Nigeria achieve 100% voluntary non-remunerated regular blood donation in other to curb the spread of HIV through blood transfusion.
Adekoga, Adeniji
Coordinator, BDI A.A.U. Detachment
