Oyo State Agency for the Control of AIDS (OYSACA) has disclosed plans to target no fewer than 10, 000 people for HIV screening throughout the state as part of activities to mark this year’s World’s AIDS Day.
The agency said the targeted testing is focus among the key drivers of the epidemic which comprises of female sex workers, men who sleep with men, people who inject drugs and transgender, in order to stem down the spread of the virus amongst the group, as well as the general population.
Chairperson of the Agency who is also the wife of the state Governor, Mrs Tamunominini Makinde made the disclosure today during a press conference to herald the commemoration of the 2020 World AIDS, with the theme “United to End AIDS amidst Covid-19, Get Tested”
Mrs Makinde who was represented by the executive secretary of the agency, Dr Lanre Abass added that the world’s attention has been shifted to Covid-19 pandemic which ravaged many things, including lives and livelihood, with high mortality and loss of job globally, however said it has become a wake-up call to do things differently with HIV and AIDS.
Relying on the NAIIS technical report of 2018, she said the state HIV prevalence rate still stands at 0.9 per cent.
She also highlighted a week long activities planned to commemorate the years occasion, noting that the event would terminate on December 1, with a rally and mega jam at Sango market, Saki.
