REPORTER: UCHE NDEKE
The Wife of Anambra State governor, Mrs Nonye Soludo, has expressed concern over the HIV prevalence status of the state describing it as worrisome.
To this end she said that her office will collaborate with the Anambra State AIDS Control Agency (ANSACA) to strengthen HIV awareness, testing, and response efforts in the state.
Mrs Soludo stated this when a delegation from agency paid her an advocacy visit at the Government House Awka.
She noted that Anambra’s current HIV prevalence rate calls for urgent and coordinated action to reverse it and expressed confidence in agency’s capacity to drive HIV prevention, control, and public education initiatives across the state.
Mrs Soludo also directed the immediate inclusion of ten women living with HIV in her NGO’s upcoming empowerment programme and reaffirmed her willingness to partner with ANSACA to curb the spread of HIV in Anambra State.
Earlier, the Executive Director of ANSACA, Doctor Nkem Okeke, explained that the agency has developed a strategic and sustainable work plan aligned with the development vision of the Anambra State Government.
He stated that available statistics place Anambra’s HIV prevalence rate at 2.4 percent, above the national average of 2.1 percent.
According to him, this makes Anambra the state with the highest HIV prevalence in the South-East and the fifth highest in the country, a situation that requires intensified intervention and public awareness efforts.
Dr. Okeke further disclosed plans to establish the Anambra State HIV Research Centre at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Awka, in collaboration with the Federal Government, to advance HIV research, prevention, and control efforts.
Radio Nigeria Correspondent Uche Ndeke reports that
the agency is currently conducting free moonlight HIV testing across communities in Anambra State while promising to remain committed to reducing the prevalence rate through sustained awareness, testing, and treatment initiatives.
