By SHUAIBU SANI BAGWAI
THE managing director of Triumph Publishing
Company Limited, Malam Mahmoud Adnan Audi has appealed to the federal
government to provide enough drugs and other medicament that will cure the
deadly disease (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) AIDS) especially at its
early stages.
Malam Audi, made the appeal while receiving
members of the Kano state action committee on AIDS (KASA) who paid him a
courtesy visit last Friday.
He described the committee as important one
considering the current situation of the widespread of the disease
especially to the nooks and crannies of the state.
The managing director, assured the committee
that the company will give them proper support and cooperation especially
when it affects publicity advising that they should intensify effort towards
campaigning on the danger of the disease.
Malam Audi, further advised the committee to
work hard to find in practical terms the affected individuals by census and
as well the stages of the diseases within them, with this he observed the
committee will know what type of advise it will offer to the affected
patients and at the end of the day a good result would be achieved.
He called on members of the committee to use
The Triumph newspapers to propagate the mission especially in a sort of
advertorial, this according to him will greatly assist in reducing the
rampant widespread of the disease.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Dr.
Ashiru Rajab, disclosed that the committee was formed in collaborate with
international agencies, Kano state government and other voluntary
organizations.
He explained that the purpose of the visit was
to present themselves to the management of the company as one of the media
outfits in Nigeria, stating that their aim will not be achieved without the
support of the media organizations especially the Triumph newspapers who
championed the cause of progress.
Dr. Rajab, noted that about 60 percent AIDS
patients are from Africa because of poverty saying in Europe they can afford
to buy drugs and have a limited the numbers of affected persons.
He recalled that in 1997, a cross examination
was conducted in Kano showing that the state was AIDS free but in 2003, the
rate has reached 4.5 percent which constitutes at least about 300,000
people.
To this end, he said, the government has taken
serious measures to address the issue in which seminar was organized among
the traditional rulers, Ulamas, women and youth organizations in order to
arrive at a possible stage of curving it out.
Other members of the committee were Dr. Abubakar Ahmad
Abubakar, Alhaji Mustapha, Alhaji Muhammad Ahmad, Aisha Lawan and Fatima
Abubakar.
