The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has urged stakeholders in the HIV and AIDS national response to ensure the success of the sustainability agenda of ending the endemic by 2030.

NACA director-general Gambo Gumel made the call after a meeting with development partners and stakeholders in Abuja.

He also urged stakeholders to initiate the sustainability process to ensure Nigeria takes ownership and control of the HIV and AIDS national response when foreign funds cease to flow.

”We need to identify sustainable structures that support health services across the federal and state institutions for service integration as key to sustaining HIV response in the country,” he said.

He urged stakeholders to help accelerate the process to meet Nigeria’s timelines to end AIDS as a public health concern.

Mr Gumel explained that the meeting opens the critical discussions around how the HIV programme could be sustained and integrated into normal health services when the disease would no longer be an epidemic but endemic as others.

NACA deputy director Yewande Olaifa said, “The agenda is an effective and efficient HIV response owned, driven, resourced and led by the people and the government of Nigeria at different levels.

“With support from her partners in line with the Paris Declaration 2005.”

The United Nations Member States committed to implementing a bold agenda to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 during the United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on ending AIDS, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York from June 8 to 10, 2016.

The main targets for combating HIV/AIDS in the next 15 years include: by 2020, reduce by 30 per cent new cases of chronic viral hepatitis B and C infections and reach three million people with hepatitis C virus treatment.

By 2020, 70 per cent of countries have at least 95 per cent of pregnant women screened for syphilis, 95 per cent of pregnant women screened for HIV and 90 per cent of pregnant women living with HIV receiving effective treatment. By 2020, screen every woman living with HIV for cervical cancer.

Others are by 2020, to expand access to family planning information, services and supplies to an additional 120 million women and girls in 69 priority countries and 2020 reduce the number of tuberculosis deaths among people living with HIV by 75 per cent.

World leaders also agreed that by 2025, they intend to achieve a 25 per cent relative reduction in the overall mortality from cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory diseases; by 2025, they will reach 80 per cent availability of affordable basic technologies and essential medicines, including generic medications, required to treat major non-communicable diseases in both public and private facilities. 

(NAN)