The Yobe State Agency for the Control of AIDS, YOSACA, said the state’s prevalence rate stands at 0.4 per cent, one of the lowest in the country.
The Agency’s Executive Director, Dr Jibrin Adamu Damazai, disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Damaturu today as part of activities marking this year’s World AIDS Day.
According to him, despite the low prevalence of the disease in the state, YOSACA is not relenting in its efforts to ensure that HIV/AIDS is reduced to the barest minimum.
“Currently, the state has a total of 9,854 people living with HIV/AIDS that are receiving drugs and they have access to all treatment,” he said.
Dr Damazai added that, in order to expand coverage and testing, YOSACA has incorporated 10 general hospitals and created 84 community centres, thereby complementing the seven existing comprehensive health centres in Damaturu, Potiskum, Fika, Jakusko, Gashu’a, Nguru and Geidam to offer more HIV/AIDS services.
“In 2025, we have procured 120 million test kits following funding gaps created due to withdrawal of support by many donor agencies. These test kits were all distributed across the state to discover new infected persons,” Dr Damazai said.
With the U.S. funding cut policy in place, the Executive Director commended Nigeria’s bold move aimed at producing HIV/AIDS drugs locally to reduce dependence on foreign donor agencies.
He also appreciated donor partners such as WHO, UNFPA, NACA, Achieving Health Nigeria Initiative and Society for Family Health for their support, urging them to sustain the momentum to achieve epidemic control by 2030 in the state.