PORT MORESBY, 12 DECEMBER 2018 (POST COURIER) – Jiwaka Provincial Health Authority in Papua New Guinea have urged young people in the province to protect themselves from contracting HIV/AIDS because it is now becoming an epidemic.
Provincial health programme manager Titus Turi said this during celebrations to mark World AIDS Day last week. Turi said people of all ages are contracting the killer disease and this is a threat to the province.
He said teenagers between the ages of 13 to 25 have already contracted the deadly virus and are living and surviving on Anti Retroviral Virus (ARV) drug.
Teams from Kudjip Nazarene Hospital and Anglicare were available during the day to give opportunity to the people for free testing.
He said the rate of HIV/AIDS in the province is at an alarming rate and the onus is on every individual to take extra precaution when being engaged in unplanned and unsafe sex. “The national prevalence rate is 1.47 per cent while for the Highlands region, it is 0.5 per cent,” said Turi.
He said the 24 testing facilities in Jiwaka have put the province in second position.
Turi said the testing facilities had confirmed more HIV information disseminated to HIV patients.
He said the province is fortunate to have 24 testing facilities which helped to detect more people with the virus.
