Ondo Pledges Continued HIV Prevention Efforts

The governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, on Monday reiterated the commitment of his administration to the sustainability of HIV prevention in the state.

Aiyedatiwa also called for more efforts to put an end to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nigeria by 2030.

The governor, who urged more support for people living with the virus, spoke in Akure, the state capital, during an awareness walk organised by the Ondo State Agency for the Control of AIDS (ODSACA).

The walk was organised as part of activities to commemorate the 2024 World AIDS Day.

The event aimed to promote awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention, reduce stigmatisation, and support individuals living with the virus.

The event, themed “Take the Right Path: Sustain the HIV response and stop HIV among children to end AIDS in Nigeria by 2030″

The awareness walk, led by Governor Aiyedatiwa, started from the Government House, Alagbaka, and ended at the MKO Abiola Democracy Park, Akure.

The Governor emphasised the state government’s commitment to eradicating HIV/AIDS through various interventions.

He listed measures taken by the state government to tackle the disease such as procurement of HIV test kits for all health facilities, establishment of monitoring and evaluation programmes for family life and HIV education in secondary schools and airing of jingles on HIV prevention messages on radio and television stations.

Aiyedatiwa called for stronger collaboration among civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, and religious groups to achieve the state’s goal of zero new HIV infections by 2030.

He said: “As a government of the people, we are committed to the sustainability of HIV prevention in the state. We shall continue to provide enabling environments, social policies, and programmes to facilitate HIV/AIDS prevention.”

The Project Manager of ODSACA, Dayo Adegbulu, said the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic was a collective responsibility.

Adegbulu warned against the stigmatisation of people living with the virus and noted that they had passed a law to prevent stigmatisation and discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS.

He asked the people of the state to report cases of stigmatisation to the relevant authorities.

Those who participated in the walk included NGOs, civil society organisations, members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), students and other stakeholders.

Ondo Pledges Continued HIV Prevention Efforts is first published on The Whistler Newspaper