By Adeyinka Adeniran
The Oyo State Agency for the Control of AIDS (OYSACA) has reiterated its commitment to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030, through collaboration with development partners, and other stakeholders.
The Chairman of the Agency, Dr. Gbola Adetunji, gave the commitment in a meeting which held at the Agency’s Conference Room with partners, line-ministries and other stakeholders across the state.
He said the government is focused on its targets aimed at ending HIV/AIDS by 2030.
The Chairman implored the stakeholders to work together with the Agency in preventing the spread of HIV in the state.
“We have to continue to ensure that we promote prevention, also work on detecting new cases and immediately put them on treatment” he said.
Dr. Adetunji noted that the meeting was aimed at developing strategic ways to sustain the momentum of controlling HIV and also the treatment coverages of the infected individuals in the state.
He assures that “very soon Oyo state along with all the local partners will take complete control of HIV/AIDS programming in the state in which we are to deliberate on the way forward in this meeting”.
Adetunji admonished the stakeholders to support the Agency with advice and experience sharing in order to avert the spread of the virus in Oyo state.
While urging all to work as a team to stem the tide of HIV/AIDS in the state and also to ensure that the year 2030 target of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic becomes a reality, Dr. Adetunji pledged that he will try his best to ensure the Agency lives up to expectation.
Earlier in his address, the Executive Secretary of the Agency, Dr. Waheed Abass hinted that the Agency is seriously working to assess HIV response in the state and set to align and harmonize support for the response.
Dr. Abass noted that at the end of the meeting, Technical Working groups (TWG) for HIV response in the state are to be set up among the participants and relevant stakeholders to guide and lead the state in ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030.
“We are trying to align what we are really doing, now that we have different players, how we replicate what we do with or without external support and what we can improve upon in terms of coverage of this particular plan.
“We are going to kick start a process of setting up technical working groups and move forward from that” he added.
The highlights of the meeting were presentations of papers from the line-ministries and the implementing partners working in the state.
The meeting was attended by the Project Manager of OYSACA, Dr. Kayode Ogunkunle, representative of APIN Public Health Initiatives, Damien Foundation Belgium (DFB), NEPWHAN as well as ASHWAN and Community Based Organisations implementing HIV programs in the state.
Others are the Ministries of health, Justice, Women Affairs, Education, Primary Health Care Board, Youth Agency and some other Line-Ministries.
