By Doris Obinna
The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has said it is promoting networking among countries in the West and Central African on HIV prevention, as well as share experiences, knowledge, and strategies in the fight against the devastating pandemic.
Speaking recently at the South-South Learning Network (SSLN), West and Central Africa Regional Meeting in Lagos, the Director-General, NACA, Dr. Gambo Aliyu said, the meeting represents a significant steps in a collective effort to combat HIV prevention in our region
According to him, Nigeria has a population of over 200 million with diverse ethnic groups (371) and three dominant ethnic groups, which are Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba.
“NACA has the sole mandate of coordinating the HIV/AIDS response in Nigeria. Modest achievements have been accomplished in the coordination and ownership of the HIV/AIDS response at all levels.
“As a nation, we have moved rapidly on many frontiers. For instance, New HIV infection among the adult population declined by 39 per cent among adult females, 41 per cent among adult males and 10 per cent among children between 2019 and 2021 (UNAIDS estimates 2022). The HIV prevalence has also declined from the peak of 5.8 in 2001 to 1.4 per cent in 2022 among the adult population.
“Nigeria, as one of the Global Prevention Coalition countries, has continued to prioritize HIV prevention. Some of the most recent efforts include the completion of the national prevention self-assessment tool (PSAT) and the ongoing sub-national PSAT.
“We are currently focusing on strengthening the data management systems for prevention to ensure evidence-informed response. We also are working on a New Business Model that is geared towards a more efficient and sustainable response to HIV.”
Also, Programme Director, SSLN, Kerry Mangold, said the South to South HIV Prevention Learning Network was an initiative of the Global HIV Prevention Coalition that aimed to support HIV prevention programme optimisation through the facilitation of shared country learning and networking.
According to her, 15 countries had so far opted into phase two of the SSLN that began in March 2022, up from the 10 countries engaged in phase one.
“The SSLN member countries are organised into three sub-regional clusters, namely, East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, South Sudan); Southern Africa (South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Eswatini, Botswana), and Western and Central Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) and Côte d’Ivoire).”
On his part, Director, Community Prevention Care and Support, NACA, Dr. James Anenih disclosed that the South South main network event is an initiative of the global Prevention coalition designed to promote prevention in different countries especially in Africa.
“Now Nigeria is part of the West and Central Region, with Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Congo Brazzaville. The essence of this initiative is that it gives us the platform to learn from each other as we move to end the epidemic it’s important we do things that works in other countries and learn then take them to our country and domesticate them; that what makes it beautiful.
“As we learn from them we go home and review our programs and make improvement and avoid the challenges they went through. We learn from each other’s experiences,” he added.
