Government to Collaborate with Development Partners to Reduce HIV/AIDS Prevalence

October 2, 2010

Ekiti state government has again expressed its readiness to nurture its relationship with development partners within and outside the country in order to maintain or further reduce the low HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the state.

Wife of Ekiti State Governor, Mrs Bisi Fayemi, dropped this hint in Ado during the inaugural meeting of the Ekiti State Action Committee on AIDS (SACA).

Ekiti SACA is made up of 36 members drawn from relevant stakeholders that cut across all sectors of the society and presided over by a Chairperson.

Mrs Fayemi, who is also the Chairperson of SACA, said the committee has a mandate to design and prosecute an intense multi-sectoral approach to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment in the state.

She said, “I am happy to inform you that on my assumption of office, I have painstakingly studied the various submissions and suggestions from different stakeholders and also held several useful discussions with the management of SACA on how to move the response forward in Ekiti State.

This has greatly helped me to engage in constructive dialogue with other relevant arms of government with the modest achievements we have so far recorded within two months of this administration.” She said.

The First Lady promised to mobilize resources for meaningful interventions aimed at reducing the spread of HIV and mitigate the impact of AIDS on the populace.

She also promised to ensure planning and coordination of the activities of the various sectors as reflected in the National Strategic Framework in the state.

According to her, “Ekiti SACA has a mandate among others to design and prosecute an intense multi-sectoral approach to HIV/AIDS prevention, care, treatment and mitigation of HIV impacts as well as to provide a non-bureaucratic and uninterrupted platform for partnership between government, Civil Society Organizations and Development Partners and the Organized Private Sector.”

The SACA Chairperson expressed the need to activate robust community participation and ownership to enhance access to available services and provide support to community based initiatives which will assist in propagating HIV/AIDS programmes in all the Local Government Areas of the state.

She said the efforts of the Dr Kayode Fayemi-led administration would be geared towards galvanizing and strengthening the health sector to facilitate the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015 and UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) target of achieving Universal Access of 80 per cent of the population to a comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support services.

Soliciting for the support and cooperation of stakeholders in the health sector, Mrs Bisi Fayemi promised to ensure that Ekiti SACA becomes a vibrant, efficient and responsive coordinating platform through continuous capacity building.

The SACA Chairperson stated that the State House of Assembly had already passed a bill that would transform Ekiti SACA to an Agency status, adding that she would ensure that the governor assented to the bill soonest.

In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Kolawole Aina, commended the state government for supporting SACA since the inception of the administration.

He added that there was the need to coordinate and manage the policies and strategies of all sectors and to mobilise human and financial resources for the successful execution of the state’s HIV/AIDS response programme.

The PS, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Hospital Services and Training in the Ministry, Dr Adetoye Oluwatuyi, appealed to government to encourage and promote training programmes for the employees of the agency and other stakeholders involved in HIV/AIDS programmes in the State.

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Last modified: October 2, 2010

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