Teddy Oscar, Abuja
The House of Representatives on Wednesday adopted a bill, which seeks to outlaw any form of discrimination and stigmatisation against Persons Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).
This is even as ‘The Bill for an Act to Establish the Federal Capital Water Board’, which empowers the board to acquire loans for development activities, was also adopted.
This was the outcome of a report on ‘A Bill for An Act make Provisions for the Prevention of HIV/AIDS-Based Stigmatisation, Discrimination and to Protect the Human Rights and Dignity of People Living with HIV/AIDS’.
During the clause-by-clause consideration of the bill on the floor of the House by the Committee of the Whole, which was presided over by the deputy speaker, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, all 35 clauses enshrined in the bill were adopted.
Highlighting the merits of the 35-clause bill, sponsor of the bill, Hon. Joseph Kigbu, said that the bill will go very far in improving healthcare for people living with HIV/AIDS as it addresses issues of stigmatisation and discrimination against such people.
“The bill, if passed, will have a huge positive impact on HIV/AIDS healthcare in Nigeria since it seeks to address the issue of discrimination and stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS both in the workplace and our homes,” Kigbu added.
Kigbu, who further explained that the bill will give increased commitment to donor funding from bilateral partners in fighting the scourge of HIV/AIDS in the country, added that “the bill draws inspiration from modern law as similar laws have been adopted in other countries.”
Highlights of the bill are that PLWHA will not be compelled to reveal their HIV/AIDS status before gaining employment and breast-feeding mothers living with the virus will be afforded “reasonable accommodation in the work place.”
If passed, it further proposes that a country belonging to a specific sub-region it remains acceptable within countries of the same region.
