The Society for Family Health (SFH), opened One Stop Shops (OSS) at three locations including Owerri, Imo state with funding support from Global Fund. The OSS would appear to be an ideal safe haven and a treatment site for key populations. The center will serve in providing a complete package of HIV Prevention, Treatment and Care to key populations in the State.
As originally conceived, OSS was designed to provide safe space from the stigmatization and discrimination experienced by members from conventional health facilities. One Stop Shop (OSS) establishment is relatively uncommon, and it is almost unheard of for facilities to actively provide services to key populations without bias as happening in this center. Most health facility workers often have a pre-conception on who and what to treat, and it is difficult for them to provide services to individuals whose behaviours are considered alien to the conventional.
The One Stop Shop (OSS), in Owerri Imo state was commissioned on 15th November 2018. It was officially opened for services to the key population by the Honourable Commissioner for Inter-Governmental Affairs and Donor Agencies, Dr Sir Ernest Nwaigbo with other dignitaries such as the Global Fund HIV project Director, Godspower Omoregie, Deputy Project Director Dr. Olusegun Oyedeji, a representative of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) Dr. Uduak Daniel, the Director General IMO State Agency for the Control of AIDS (IMOSACA) Dr. Charles Durueke, the Press, project staff from the state and SFH Head Quarters.
Our experience since the commissioning of the One Stop Shop (OSS), In Owerri, has been of a beehive of activities with key populations. The center has been helping to provide the much needed services to key populations in the state, and is expected that the state government will apply lessons from the center to replicate more OSS in other parts of the state for effective service provisions and coverage in the state.