HIV/AID: We Are Alive To Our Responsibilities - OSACA

Kazeem Badmus

THE Osun State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS has said it is alive to its responsibili es of preven ng the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus in the state, contrary to the report that it is not func oning as expected.

In a statement signed by its Project Manager, Dr Akin Oyebade, the agency said it has been going through the nook and crannies of the state to engage in Community HIV tes ng in order to iden fy every person living with HIV and enroll them for treatment.

According to Oyebade, there is no shortage of condoms and HIV tes ng kits in the state, no ng that there is a procedure to get the commodi es by relevant stakeholders.

He stated that the focus of the State Government and OSACA is to achieve the goal of the SPEED project and SURGE strategy of achieving 100% satura on before the end of 2024.

Oyebade said the state has been able to place 16,256 persons living with HIV on treatment out of the 29,936 people with the virus.

The project manager added that OSACA alongside other stakeholders conducted quarterly Joint Suppor ve Supervisory Visits (JSSV) to HIV Service Delivery Points to offer technical support to HIV service providers.

He said: “The State cur- rently has 16,256 persons living with HIV on treatment out of 29.936 es mated number of people living with HIV. This means that about 54% of people living with HIV have been successfully placed on treat- ment as against the target of 95%. The goal of the SURGE strategy is to ensure that the State scale-up from 54% to 80% before the end of September 2023, meaning that it is likely Osun State will achieve

100% satura on before the end of 2024, even surpassing 95%.

“The SURGE strategy has been u lised in several states in Nigeria to achieve 100% satura on within the shortest

Yusuf Oketola

THE Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Zone 11, comprising Osun, Oyo and Ondo states has said about 9,484 drivers licenses were yet to be collected in the zone.

This was disclosed by the Zonal Commanding Officer of the Zone, Assistant Corps Marshall Meshach Jatau in an interview with newsmen on Wednesday in Osogbo.

Jatau noted that FRSC will soon commence a special opera on tagged “Show Your License” to address the situa on.

The Zonal Commander said the special opera on to be embarked upon would enable only licensed and authorised drivers/riders on roads in the SouthWest.

Speaking further, Jatau disclosed that the agency recorded decrease in road ac-