Efforts are in top gear for the conduct of Nigeria AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) in Oyo State.
Mrs. Tolulope Olushola-Jimoh, who is the Community Mobilization Officer (CMO), Oyo State Agency for the Control of AIDS (OYSACA), disclosed this to media practitioners during a recent workshop training on HIV/AIDS reporting and communication.
She stated that the survey (NAIIS) is an initiative of the federal government through the Federal Ministry of Health and National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) about HIV in Nigeria.
The CMO also disclosed that the survey which is being funded by the Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is to reveal the real burden of HIV/AIDS in the country.
She opined that the survey which was launched on Thursday, 28th June, 2018 will have a sample size of about 170,000 people across the 774 local government areas in the country. The CMO added that the exercise is expected to take place between 13th and 15th of November, 2018 across the 33 local government areas of Oyo State.
While explaining the rationale behind the survey, Mrs. Olushola-Jimoh said that apart from the fact that the survey will enable the agency to determine accurate estimate of people in the country living with HIV, it will also help to move Nigeria towards an HIV free generation.
She noted further that the exercise will help participants to have free access to HIV test in the comfort of their homes, improve the success of HIV treatment and other services n the country as well as enabling them access to other tests such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, CD4 and BDS.
While commending the wife of the State Governor, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi for the approval and sponsorship of the workshop training, as well as her efforts towards realizing HIV free generation in Oyo State, Mrs. Olushola-Jimoh, called on the people of the state to cooperate with the research enumerators who will be collecting data from thousands of households across the state in order to record hitch-free exercise.
Packaged by Kunle Gazali
