Chevron commits $5.3m to HIV prevention--PUNCH

Chevron Nigeria Limited has injected additional $1.7m into the prevention of transmission of the HIV/AIDS from mother to child in Bayelsa State.

With the additional sum, the firm’s commitment to the cause of HIV/AIDS in the state has risen to $5.3m.

Managing Director, Chevron, Mr. Andrew Fawthrop, announced this at the inauguration of the expansion of Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Tuesday.

Fawthrop, who was represented by an area manager, Mr. Joe Chakpa, said the additional funding had raised the commitment of the firm to $5.3m in the past five years.

He said the programme would be extended to eight local government areas in the state.

Fawthrop stated, “The additional funding support of $1.7m will facilitate the expansion of the PROMOT project to all local government areas in the state.

“Chevron is proud to expand our partnership to support impactful initiatives like PROMOT, this is a proof that we are motivated to expand as we work together to deliver real, measurable results towards ending mother-to-child transmission of HIV.”

In his comments, Bayelsa Commissioner for Health, Dr. Michael Awoli, reiterated the state government’s commitment to fighting HIV.

 He said the government had upgraded the Bayelsa Action Committee to the status of agency and appointed competent professionals to drive the state’s policy on HIV control.