Korede Abdullah in Lagos
Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has reaffirmed his commitment to eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS in the state.
Oyebanji made this promise on Wednesday, while hosting the Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr. Temitope Ilori, and her team.
The governor emphasized his administration’s intention to collaborate effectively with NACA and other health sector stakeholders.
He aims to prevent newborns from contracting the virus and reduce the state’s HIV/AIDS prevalence rate.
Oyebanji noted Ekiti’s progress in controlling the pandemic but stressed the importance of addressing mother-to-child transmission.
He pledged to strengthen Local Action Committee on AIDS (LACA) at the local government level and establish HIV Testing Services in all 16 local government areas.
“If you follow comments on Ekiti State, we have done a lot of things in that sector to ensure that we work in respect to their welfare and availability of health facilities and consumables across the state. We are actually punching beyond our weight in that sector.
“I am happy on the emphasis in reducing transmission from mother to child, it is very critical, yes, the prevalent rate may be low here, but the transmission from mother to child, we need to watch that.
“Whatever we need to do, we will do, because it is in our interest to keep our people healthy and also protect the unborn children from contacting this disease.” The Governor said.
Dr. Ilori lamented Nigeria’s high contribution to global paediatric HIV cases, despite significant resources allocated to combat the issue. She urged strengthened collaboration with the state government to reduce prevalence.
The NACA boss praised Ekiti’s lowest HIV prevalence rate in Nigeria and advocated for involvement from religious leaders, traditional rulers, and media outlets to eradicate the scourge entirely.
Also at the meeting were the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Habibat Adubiaro, Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Oyebanji Filani and officials of NACA and SACA.
