ANSACA Takes HIV Fight to 27 Tertiary Institutions, Targets Young People for 2030 Elimination Goal

By Chukwuemeka Modilim

The Anambra State AIDS Control Agency, ANSACA, has taken its HIV prevention campaign into tertiary institutions across the state, inaugurating focal persons in 27 institutions as part of efforts to eliminate HIV in Anambra by 2030.

The Executive Director and Project Manager of ANSACA, Dr. Nkem Okeke, inaugurated the focal persons, comprising lecturers and students, charging them to take the HIV prevention and awareness campaign directly to their various campuses.

Dr. Okeke said the initiative was necessary because adolescents and young people remain a critical population in the HIV response, particularly due to gaps in access to accurate information and knowledge on prevention.

He explained that reaching young people early with the right information, prevention measures and access to appropriate support would help reduce new HIV infections and prevent further spread of the virus.

The ANSACA boss directed the focal persons to establish Campus Action Committees on AIDS, CACA, in their respective institutions, which will be inaugurated and trained by the agency in line with professional and ethical standards.

According to him, the committees will serve as important structures for sustaining HIV awareness, prevention and intervention activities within the campuses.

Okeke said the initiative was part of the proactive measures being implemented by ANSACA to strengthen the state’s HIV response, while acknowledging the efforts of Governor Chukwuma Soludo in revitalising HIV interventions in Anambra.

Chairman of the Action Committee on the ANSACA Tertiary Institution HIV Response Programme, Mr. Emeka Nwabunwanne, charged the focal persons to see themselves as building blocks of the HIV response in their respective institutions.

Nwabunwanne urged them to help protect students from vulnerability to HIV and AIDS through sustained awareness, prevention, early intervention, accurate information, access to treatment and appropriate support.

Responding on behalf of the team, the newly inaugurated focal persons pledged their commitment to driving the initiative and ensuring that HIV prevention messages reach students across their respective institutions.