The government of Kano State, led by Governor Abba Kabiru Yusuf, is set to conduct a mass wedding for indigenes of the state.
The Kano State Agency for the Control of Aids announced on Tuesday that it has initiated a pre-marital health screening for an additional 147 potential couples.
In a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday by the Agency’s Information Officer, Usman Datti, the Director-General of the Agency, Dr Usman Bashir, had explained earlier during an inspection of the screening process that its purpose was to “offer medical assessments and consultations, if necessary, to prospective couples.”
The DG further emphasized that the screening exercise is to ensure the physical well-being of the individuals intending to marry and to prevent the transmission of diseases through marriage.
“This is achieved through laboratory tests to identify and address any potential health issues or challenges,” the statement noted.
It added that during the exercise, the main areas of focus remained HIV testing, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C screening, Sickle Cell Genotype testing, evaluation for venereal diseases, and pregnancy testing, adding that the State Government have provided ample facilities and medical personnel to ensure the smooth conduct of the exercise.
The DG urged prospective couples to take the exercise seriously, as similar exercises had been conducted for different sets of couples who recently got married under the state government’s mass wedding programme.
The Kano government had recently sponsored and officiated the mass wedding of a total of 1,800 couples.