The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) through the support of the Global Fund grant at
the weekend handed over the last 6 of 28 vehicles for community services against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
The agency said its part of intensified campaign against HIV/AIDS in rural areas to ensure that the prevalence of the disease is reduced to the barest minimum.
Speaking at the handing over ceremony, the Director General of NACA,Prof. John Idoko said that the services would first be extended to about 12 states based on their present prevalence rates.
The civil societies being supported for the community services, he said include Civil Society on HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (CiSHAN), Civil Society in Malaria Control, Immunization and Nutrition (ACOMIN) and
Civil Society for Eradication of Tuberculosis in Nigeria (The TB Network).
He said: “We need to take our services to where it is needed most. HIV/IADS does not only reside in Abuja alone, we need to go to the various communities. We need to move and decentralize to rural communities.”
“We also want to address the elimination of mother to child. So many women are pregnant and HIV/AIDS positive and are passing this virus to their children. This is not acceptable. We are working very hard on that and I believe these vehicles will be also used for that.”