Group supports over 300,000 Nigerians with HIV treatment

Excellence Community Education Welfare Scheme, a non-profit organisation committed to deepening access to health and education, said it is currently supporting treatment for over 300,000 HIV/AIDS patients across the country.

It said over 142,000 of these patients are receiving treatment in Akwa Ibom State alone.

Addressing journalists in Uyo as part of activities marking the organisation’s 24 years of service to humanity on Friday, the Executive Director in Akwa Ibom State, Andy Eyo, said the intervention in health, education and, recently, agriculture has been very impactful.

“Recently, as we speak, we are supporting over 300,000 people on drugs for HIV/AIDS with support from the American people and global funds.

In Akwa Ibom State alone, we are supporting over 142,000 of these patients and, because of this resource, they are able to stay on their medication, live a normal life and contribute to the state economy.”

Eyo said the organisation, in the past 24 years, has supported close to 200 healthcare facilities, including secondary healthcare facilities, across the state in terms of training and infrastructure.

He said, “The organisation, through the healthcare sector in Akwa Ibom State, is supporting close to 200 healthcare facilities in the 31 LGAs, including secondary healthcare facilities, with training and infrastructure.

We are supporting digital health all-in-one system high-tech computers.

“We are excited to bring power, renewable power, to our health sector; we are happy to bring internet access to our healthcare sector; we are happy to bring high-quality services driven by science and evidence. For us in ECEWS, the future awaits us. We are really investing a lot in digital health and digital education to ensure that the future does not meet us unprepared.”

He disclosed that ECEWS has over 1,600 support staff in Akwa Ibom State alone who are being paid at least N150,000 per month, thus contributing to reducing unemployment in the state.

In education, Eyo said the organisation is partnering with the Bank of Industry to commence the renovation of schools across the state.

“For us in ECEWS, we believe education is a right. Today, we are having a partnership with BOI to begin renovations of schools, and renovating some of these schools has been quite a pleasure: to see those old buildings come back to life, to see more children being able to come back to schools and access the much-needed education.”

He said ECEWS is also venturing into agriculture to ensure that people eat what can be grown locally, adding that climate-smart agriculture is what it is thinking of exploring in the next couple of years.