Taraba has become the first State in Nigeria to build
capacity on Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/
Acquired Immune DeficiencySyndrome (AIDS)
programming for adolescents and young.

A statement from the National Agency for the
Control of AIDS (NACA), which was signed by Head of Media, Mrs. Toyin Aderigbigbe, noted:

“Taraba is the first state in the country to disseminate the National HIV Strategy for Adolescents and Young People (2016-2020) to stakeholders and build their capacity on its implementation. This activity
took place on August 30 to 31, 2016. Participants included representatives from Taraba state ministry of Women Affairs and Child Development, Ministry of
Youth and Sports, Ministry Education, State AIDS and STI Control Programme, Local Government Agencies for the Control of AIDS, non-governmental organisations working with young people
and network of persons living with HIV.

This group could serve as a valuable resource pool to other states.
“Clear action plans have been developed that will ultimately help to reduce new HIV infections among adolescent and young people and ensure
access to treatment care and support services to those
living with HIV in the state.
“This further emphasises the need for resources to be
mobilized to Taraba to address the established need
and gaps in the state’s HIV response especially as regards adolescents and young people.” Until now, Taraba has a HIV prevalence of 10.5 per cent,
which is over three times the national average and the
highest in northern Nigeria.

Despite this, very few partners have situated their
HIV projects and programmes in the state. Only two projects are presently ongoing- the World Bank-supported HIV/ AIDS Program Development
Project 2, which will end in February next year; and the
NACA Comprehensive AIDS Programme with States
(formerly known as NACA SURE-P HIV/AIDS Programme).

Therefore, Taraba state remains a state in dire need of
support to sustain and scale- up the gains made so far in the response to HIV. Despite these constraints,
Taraba state government, through the State Agency for
the Control AIDS (TACA) continues to demonstrate
great commitment to reducing the HIV burden.

-guardian
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