Sen. Dipo Odujinrin, the Chairman, Board of National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), has called on the state governments to increase their contributions toward the fight against HIV/AIDS in the country.
Odujinrin made the call on Monday at the opening ceremony of a three-day Technical Meeting organised by NACA South-West Zone in Ibadan.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the technical meeting was attended by the Oyo State Government, States Agency for the Control of AIDS (SACA), implementing partners and stakeholders.
Odunjirin said that the state governments needed to increase their contributions in the fight against HIV/AIDS toward achieving the 95:95:95.
“With 80 per cent foreign donor contributions, the Federal Government about 18 per cent, private sector one per cent and states under one per cent, we should know that things cannot happen.
“The foreign donor will not be here for too long.
“How do we get these sustained going forward and lot of people are dying? We keep saying we want to achieve 95:95:95.
“And Nigeria is on 15 per cent viral load suppression. So, we must fight this epidemic to a standstill. Sustainability is key in tackling the epidemic,’’ he said.
The NACA chairman expressed gladness that President Muhammadu Buhari has added 50,000 people to the one million being treated before, saying that it was still a scratch on the surface.
Also, Dr Olabode Oladipo, the Oyo State Commissioner for Health, commended the zonal office of NACA for convening the meeting aimed at creating a platform for collective efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Oladipo said that human beings should be commended for coming together to chart a great course and resolving to reduce the fatalities from the various viruses.
“The world has been able to show that human beings can cohabitate with viruses without much fatalities.
“We must collectively tackle the various epidemics caused by these viruses,’’ he said.
In his remarks, Dr Lanre Abass, the Executive Secretary, SACA Oyo State, said that the meeting was very important in forging a way forward as a zone.
Abass called on all stakeholders, implementing partners and Nigerians to collectively give their commitments toward the fight against HIV/AIDS in the country.
Earlier, Mrs Ronke Adeoye, the NACA South-West Coordinator, said that objective of the meeting was for all stakeholders and partners to rub minds and as well share ideas.
Adeoye said that the meeting would also help each state in learning how best to handle the fight against HIV/AIDS, considering what operates in other neighbouring states.
“We understand that in the South-West, we have peculiarities. There are states that are doing well, the average and those below the average point.
“So, we want to see this meeting as a platform for information sharing and a kind of lead way in achieving epidemic control across the region,’’ she said.
NAN reports that the technical meeting, which commenced on Tuesday, would be rounded up on Thursday. (NAN)