Shoyinka queries reduction in HIV cases

By Sade Oguntola

From left: Professor Olaitan Soyannwo
and Dr. Anne Merriman at the Palliative
Care Lecture held at the School of
Nursing hall, UCH, Ibadan recently.Contrary to the declaration that cases of HIV are going down, the Executive Director of the Network on Ethics/Human Rights, Law HIV/AIDS Prevention, Support and Care (NELA), Professor Femi Soyinka, has called for a review of the way the prevalence of the diseases was being determined in the country.

Prof. Soyinka speaking at a capacity building seminar on fighting stigma against people living with HIV, held at the Oyo State Nigeria Medical Association house in Ibadan, he said what was seen on the field was much higher that what the last sero prevalence survey indicated. "We still have a high prevalence of about 10 per cent. Therefore, when we talk about the prevalence going down, we need to look in and see how they came with the figures. When you go to the screening centres, they tell you that what they see is much more than what the sero-prevalence figures says. Even from what we see on the field, the number of people infected is not going down either, despite the fact that the awareness on the disease is high," he declared.

He said, until the stigma against people living with the virus was overcome, the number of person infected and affected by HIV would continue to increase. According to him, "stigma is still with us at all levels and social strata due to basic reasons that centre on fear and ignorance. It is in us that when something does not happen to us it is bad. However, until we are able to overcome these basic facts, accept that the virus is with us and anybody affected or infected brought near and properly cared for, we will not be able to reduce the number of people infected by the virus."

"If we successfully stop the stigmatising people with HIV, they would be part of us and they could come out openly to participate in prevention activities and can then serve as role models for people, especially young people. Dr. Joke Akintunde, the representative of Oyo state Commissioner for Health, emphasised the need for more enlightenment on why there should be a reduction in stigmatisation of people with HIV. She said the use of the right vocabularies in the enlightenment was very important. Such phrases as "the disease kills, it is untreatable", which continue to fire the stigma, she said, should be discontinued in the campaign against HIV.

Expert alerts on scarcity of morphine in hospitals

The current dearth of morphine in Nigerian hospitals to alleviate the pains of several persons with terminal illnesses such as cancer, HIV and stroke may end up reversing the gains the country has made in ensuring that citizens with terminal ailments die in dignity. For these individuals who for the past few years had relied on morphine solution dispensed to them in hospitals to control their pain, they may have to resort to other non-effective pain relievers.

Professor Olaitan Soyannwo, the Project Director, Centre for Palliative Care, Nigeria, a group that is actively involved with education, advocacy and care of patients living with life limiting illnesses and their families, said this during a palliative care guest lecture organised by the centre in conjunction with University College Hospital Palliative Care group, and Hospice Africa Uganda.

According to her, pain was real and those that were in pain due to such diseases as cancer should not be left to suffer all because there were no appropriate pain killers for them to use. The guest lecturer at the occasion, Dr. Anne Merriman, Founder, Hospice African Uganda, who spoke on the theme, "Palliative Care in Children", said that palliative care in places where it is fully operational has not only changed the approach of healthcare professionals from curing to always caring, but also ensured that there was more support to persons that have terminal illnesses and are in pain.

According to her, the number of people requiring palliative care due to such ailments as HIV and cancer, even among children, would continue to increase and so the need to ensure that in Nigeria, people could easily access palliative care both at home and in the hospital. Dr. Merriman said given that children's understanding of death and dying differs from adults and are particularly afraid of being separated from their families and friends, such children should be shown empathy and have their pain relieved appropriately.

‘There is no shame in assisted conception’

Although the process of making babies is supposed to come naturally and unaided in couples, certain factors may sometimes prevent this from happening and in cases like this, such couples may require medical assistance from fertility experts in order to have their own children. This was the submission of a renowned Nordica Fertility Clinic, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi, during the official opening of the clinic’s new office in Ikoyi, Lagos.

According to Dr. Ajayi, there was no shame in assisted conception, adding that the centre had been able to put smiles on the faces of over 200 couples through its various assisted reproductive technologies. “A couple that had been married for 20 years had a baby girl through In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) at Ayinke House of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH). The baby was the first baby of the year in 2007. Another baby boy was also recently delivered at Havannah Hospital, Lagos, through the help of Nordica”, Dr. Ajayi disclosed.

He revealed that Nordica Lagos was credited with the delivery of the first baby conceived with the aid of Laser Assisted Hatching in West Africa, adding that the centre had also metramorphosed into a one-stop fertility centre providing pin-hole surgery to clients.

According to him, “This leads to a considerable reduction in hospital stay as well as cost. It also increases productivity as women can return earlier to work and does not jeopardize fertility as it reduces the chances of post-operative adhesives, it is also cosmetic, almost leaving no scar.”

Dr. Ajayi said Nordica Lagos was committed to providing the highest level of assisted conception and gynaecological services. This, he hoped would reduce the number of Nigerians going abroad for assisted conception and thereby save the nation significant foreign exchange.

He however expressed regrets at the attitude of many Nigerians to assisted conception adding that most people see it as the last option. “Some are not even aware that it exists”, he added. On what could be responsible for infertility among couples, Dr. Ajayi attributed many cases of infertility to lifestyle problems and under-nutrition.