The Gombe State Government says it will commence electronic medical records for the people living with HIV and AIDS, to make it easy to access care through mobile phones.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Kennedy Ishaya, made the disclosure at the commemoration of World AIDS Day in Gombe on Monday.
Ishaya said each client would have electronic records with the mobile phone numbers included, adding that the person could call the toll lines and the records would appear in the system.
He said the client could also get prescription from the doctor when required.
“We have the contacts of all our clients and we will be using the mobile phone to call anybody that absconds. We call it client tracking,’’ he said.
According to him, when the system is introduced, it will reduce stigmatisation.
He said people would be encouraged to go for voluntary counselling and testing because they were sure that their case would be treated with confidentiality.
Ishaya said free foodstuff would also be provided for the clients who were less privileged.
The commissioner also commended partners for the development and the non-governmental organisations for working toward eliminating the disease.
The Project Manager, Gombe State Action Committee on HIV and AIDS, Dr Surajo Abdulkarim, said this year’s commemoration was concentrated in the rural areas because the burden of the disease was there.
He appealed to the state government to pay the counterpart fund to the Federal Government, to enable them access the fund to fight the scourge to zero level.
He also commended the donor agencies in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme, particularly UNICEF.
The state Programme Manager for Integrated Health Programme, Mrs Emily Madina, said the organisation was supporting the state government in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
She said one of the strategies put in place to eradicate HIV and AIDS in Gombe was supporting Community-Based Organisations to create awareness through dialogue and awareness.
“One of the things we want to know is that HIV and AIDS is no more a serious problem that people use to think.
“People thought if you are positive you are going to die the next minute; it is certainly not.
“We have seen a lot of people living positive and they are doing very well, let them not hide, we have 21 treatment centres in the state,’’ she explained. (NAN)
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