CDC Nigeria Working To Sustain HIV Control Measures
Princess-Ekwi Ajide Abuja
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, says it is working to ensure that about one point- nine million people living with HIV in Nigeria continue benefiting from life saving treatments.
The Country Director for CDC, Dr. Mary Boyd, stated this at a consultative meeting with Nigerian States’ Commissioners of Health to assess the U.S.-CDC/PEPFAR-supported HIV programme implementation, progress towards epidemic control, and sustainability.
The event which was a platform to assess the progress or other of the project in the eighteen states where people living with HIV are currently receiving treatment through U.S. CDC intervention.
Addressing participants at the meeting, the U.S. CDC Country Director, Dr. Boyd, expressed happiness that Nigeria has surpassed the expectations and pledged that they are committed to closing up gaps, letting science lead, building systems, and having creative partnerships.
She said the essence of the meeting was to strengthen leadership from the community to the states and to national so as to imbibe principles and values such as respect and humility, that would lead to Sustainability of the ART Surge.
Dr. Boyd stated that they are looking for ways of engaging in a sustained manner so as to have sustained impact and not just with the goal to reach target as the HIV treatment surge would not have been possible without the states replicating it as their own initiative.
According to her, there will be no sustained HIV Treatment Surge without the states hence the meeting which will be another step towards the journey of sustainability of the project so as to build a consistently impactful and sustained response.
The Director of NASCP, Dr. Akudo Ikpeazu, re-echoed the need for states to take the lead and spearhead the project and with the support of participanting states, progress will be insurmountable as sustainability will be assured.
She disclosed that NASCP is starting a project for sustainability and impact which will have states in the forefront driving the project.
