Ahead of the state-sponsored mass wedding in Kano, the Hisba Commission has uncovered the health status of couples intending to marry, including HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and early pregnancy among couples. The NNPP government has re-launched the Group Marriage Scheme, selecting 3,600 men and women to benefit from government funding to build their matrimonial homes. As part of the mitigation measures, the state government has approved a budget of N800 million for mass weddings. Lawyer Abba Sufi, the council’s director-general, told reporters there were plans to sponsor a bill that would require premarital screening to determine a couple’s health status. “This finding demonstrates the importance of premarital screening, which we cannot take for granted.

Source: The Guardian October 06, 2023 15:09 UTC