The Anambra State AIDS Control Agency (ANSACA) has announced the launch of a campus-based HIV response initiative across 27 tertiary institutions in the state, as part of steps towards strengthening HIV prevention and support services for adolescents and young people.
Tertiary institutions have been identified as hotbeds that spell very negative numbers for the state in its drive to address the spate of HIV.
Students’ habit of cohabiting, resulting in unprotected sex and other unhealthy practices, was identified as responsible for the rising numbers, according to a survey recently conducted by an independent organisation working in the area of HIV/AIDS in the state.
The initiative, known as the Campus Action Committee on AIDS (CACA), was unveiled during the inauguration of two HIV focal persons from each participating institution, one lecturer representing the school management and one student representative.
The participating institutions include universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, colleges of nursing, and schools of nursing across government-owned, private and mission institutions in the state.
Under the programme, each institution will establish a Campus Action Committee made up of students drawn from different departments and academic levels.
On its part, ANSACA will provide training and officially inaugurate the committees to ensure their activities adhere to professional and ethical standards.
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Speaking at the launch, the Executive Secretary of ANSACA, Dr. Johnbosco Okeke, said the initiative introduces a dedicated campus-level structure that complements existing HIV response mechanisms at the national, state, local government and ward levels.
“If we are able to secure this age group, it means that we have secured the elderly population, the coming future generations and those coming up,” Okeke said.
He also commended Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo for his administration’s renewed commitment to the state’s HIV response, noting that the government’s support has enabled ANSACA to expand its interventions across Anambra.
Okeke further said with the inauguration of the focal persons, the agency is set to begin the next phase of establishing and strengthening Campus Action Committees across the 27 participating institutions.
