The Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, Dr Temitope Ilori, has assured of the agency’s determination to provide leadership to drive an accelerated decline in new HIV infections in the country.

She also said NACA was poised to foster community engagements, participation and leadership to keep with the global AIDS strategy.

“We are also going to strengthen our data to make sure that we get it right, and I think by then, we will have a bigger success story”, she assured stakeholders in her remarks at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Nigeria HIV Prevention Conference in Abuja.

Ilori, who was elated over the success of the conference, also assured that her agency would strengthen the multisectoral engagement approach at the state level to ensure sustainability against HIV at the grassroots.

“We are going to strengthen our multisectoral engagement starting from the State level through our SACAs to deliver their mandate and to ensure sustainability at the grassroots.

“We are poised to fostering community engagements, participation and leadership to keep with the global AIDS strategy. We are also going to strengthen our data to make sure that we get it right, and I think by then, we will have a bigger success story”, she said.

On its part, the Joint United States Programme on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS, expressed its confidence in Nigeria’s ability to reduce new infections and ultimately end AIDS through collective effort.

UNAIDS’ Nigeria Country Director, Dr Leo Zekeng, speaking at the event, commended

participants for their active involvement in the conference and called for collaborative efforts to end the HIV/AIDS scourge in the country.

He said he was impressed with the energy and active listening skills of the participants, emphasizing the importance of learning from one another.

While highlighting the need for sustained commitment, he said: “Are we all committed? So we really hope this will be yet another conference, looking at costs in preventing the recommendation and then the learnings.”

The UNAIDS Country Director, who also spoke on the need to implement actionable recommendations to drive progress in HIV prevention and treatment, advocated measures such as mandatory testing for pregnant women and the establishment of scorecards to monitor progress at the state level.

Also speaking, the Nigeria country coordinator for PEPFAR, Ms. Funmi Adesanya, urged the youth to take action in HIV prevention efforts, emphasizing the importance of youth engagement.

She said, “We are here to support and be a partner to Nigeria, and really truly to invest and lift up the youth, the next generation of leaders and policymakers.”

Ms Adesanya, underscored the importance of translating ideas into action, appealed to the stakeholders at the event ensure what took away from the event manifested in the country’s HIV eradication efforts.

“There’s not going to be a strategy that can be applicable to Lagos or Taraba or Nasarawa,” stressing the importance of engaging with all segments of society. I called upon attendees to share information and knowledge widely, recognizing that education and awareness are powerful tools in combating HIV transmission,” she said.

On her part, Elizabeth Talatu, who spoke on behalf of over 170 Nigerian youths at the event, appealed for a meaningful engagement of adolescents and young people living with HIV, including key populations in inter-ministerial task forces and technical working groups responsible for the coordination of multi-sectoral collaboration, resource mobilization, and implementation of HIV prevention programs.

She said: “We call for support for the effective implementation of comprehensive sexuality education, and the strengthening of the in-school Family Life and HIV Education Program in Nigeria.”

“We urgently call for partnerships and collaborations among government, UN agencies, civil society organizations, private sector entities, and development partners to leverage resources, expertise, and networks for comprehensive HIV prevention initiatives.”

“We equally call for the active engagement and meaningful involvement of young people living with HIV, including key populations across all levels of decision-making to amplify their voices, remove barriers to access to funding, provide capacity building, and ensure transition plans are put in place toward efforts in HIV prevention.”

“We call on multi-stakeholders including the government, UN agencies, civil society organizations, private sector entities, and development partners, to generate domestic resources to support HIV prevention initiatives led by youth-led organizations and networks.”