The Anambra State AIDS Control Agency has launched a new campus-based HIV response initiative across 27 tertiary institutions in the state as part of efforts to strengthen prevention, awareness and support services among students and other young people.
The initiative, known as the Campus Action Committee on AIDS, was unveiled during the inauguration of HIV focal persons drawn from the participating institutions in Awka, the Anambra State capital.
The programme is expected to strengthen HIV prevention and awareness activities within universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, colleges of nursing and schools of nursing across the state.
Speaking during the inauguration, the Executive Director and Project Manager of the Anambra State AIDS Control Agency, Dr Nkem Okeke, said the agency would train and formally inaugurate the committees to ensure that their activities comply with professional and ethical standards.
Okeke explained that the agency was expanding its engagement with tertiary institutions as part of efforts to deepen HIV prevention, awareness and control among young people.
According to him, each participating institution will have a campus committee involving a representative of the school authority, particularly a lecturer, and a student representative.
The institutions participating in the initiative include government-owned, private and mission-owned tertiary institutions.
He said the campus committees would also be expected to involve students from different departments and levels to ensure wider participation and representation within their institutions.
The ANSACA boss noted that the initiative would add a campus-level structure to Anambra’s existing HIV response system, complementing interventions already operating at the national, state, local government and ward levels.
Okeke also acknowledged the support of the Anambra State Government under Governor Chukwuma Soludo, saying the administration’s commitment was important to expanding HIV interventions across the state.
With the inauguration of the focal persons, the agency is expected to begin the next phase of establishing and strengthening the Campus Action Committee on AIDS structures across the 27 institutions.
The Chairman of the Action Committee on the ANSACA Tertiary Institution HIV Response Programme, Mr Emeka Nwabunwanne, also charged the focal persons to see themselves as important partners in strengthening the state’s HIV response within their respective campuses.
The initiative reflects growing efforts to take health awareness and prevention programmes directly to tertiary institutions, where students and young people can be reached through organised campus structures.
By establishing HIV response committees within schools, the programme is expected to improve awareness, encourage preventive practices and strengthen access to appropriate information and support services among members of the tertiary institution communities.
