L-R: Erelu Bisi Fayemi; Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy and Oriental Medicine, Rangsit University. Thailand, Prof. Krisana Kraisintu; and First Secretary, Royal Thai Embassy in Nigeria, Dr. Saowalak Pornwilassiri, during a visit to her office by a delegation from Thailand.
Ekiti State AIDS Control Agency (EKSACA) is poised to tap into Thailand’s experience by further exploring medical and social
interventions to stem the tide of HIV/AIDS scourge in the state.
The wife of the state governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, who is also the chairperson of EKSACA, disclosed this when a delegation from Thailand visited her office, in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
She disclosed that Ekiti has the lowest HIV/AIDS prevalence in the country, but added that the state was not prepared to rest on its
laurels.
The team had visited Ekiti to forge partnership with the state on rice production and establishment of pharmaceutical plant to enhance its health indicators.
On the train were the first Secretary to the Royal Thai Embassy in Nigeria, Dr. Saowalak Pornwilassiri, and a Thai Pharmaceutical
Consultant, Professor Krisana Kraisintu.
The professor, who is the Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy and Oriental Medicine, Rangsit University, Thailand, is renowned for the invention of anti-retroviral drugs to prevent mother to child transmission, as well as anti-malaria drugs.
Speaking further, Erelu Bisi Fayemi described the visit as timely, noting that the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate had peaked from 1.0 per cent in 2008 to about 1.4 per cent presently, which she said called for concerted effort to combat the disease.
The governor’s wife restated the commitment of the Governor Kayode Fayemi-led administration to attract investors to the state by
providing the enabling environment for them.
She said that the governor would support all efforts geared towards improving the standard of living of the people and their wellbeing.
Erelu Bisi Fayemi said, “Our state does not have huge resources unlike some oil-producing states, but we do have other assets.
“We have human resources and we have beautiful natural resources. And we hope that all these things can be deployed to support whatever investment you want to make in our midst.”
Earlier, Prof. Kraisintu had explained that the mission of the delegation was to see how Ekiti people could be trained in Thailand on
the production of rice as well as to set up a pharmaceutical industry in the state.
She added that anti-malaria and anti-retroviral drugs would be her main focus when the proposed drug plant comes on stream, having worked in the pharmaceutical field as a manufacturer, researcher and business
developer in the past 28 years. After the training of professionals, she was upbeat that they would be able to manufacture drugs on their own to end the regime of importation of certain drugs.
The visitors had toured the state’s University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti and the Central Medical Store for a first-hand experience on the state of pharmaceuticals in the state before visiting the governor’s wife.
Besides, she said that Thailand was prepared to assist the state to develop its fish farming potentials to commercial and exportable
quantities.
Last modified: May 1, 2012
