No fewer than 11,397 Lagos residents across 20 local government areas will be reached in a new HIV survey launched by the Lagos State Government in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and international partners.

The Nigeria State-Level Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Impact Survey (AIS), unveiled on Tuesday at a town hall meeting in Ikeja, seeks to determine treatment coverage and viral load suppression among adults aged 15 to 64 years.

Officials say the outcome will provide the most reliable data for planning and tracking progress towards ending the HIV epidemic.

Permanent Secretary, Lagos Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, said the survey would assess HIV prevalence and strengthen evidence-based decision-making.

?We count on the cooperation of communities, security agencies, and field workers to make it successful,? he said.

U.S. CDC Deputy Director, Dr. Ibrahim Dalhatu, noted that while the survey is scientific, it remains a people-centred activity. ?The results will guide important health decisions on HIV and other diseases for Lagos and Nigeria,? he said, urging communities to give field workers access.

Representing the National AIDS and STIs Control Programme (NASCP), Dr. Chioma Ukanwa described the AIS as ?a globally recognized exercise vital to epidemic control.? She said reliable data from Lagos would help shape health policies and improve outcomes for people living with HIV.

Other stakeholders, including the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), APIN-PHIS3 Project, and the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), pledged support for the survey, stressing that cooperation at the grassroots was essential to its success.

To drive participation, Lagos AIDS Programme Coordinator, Oladipupo Fisher, unveiled a community mobilization plan involving town hall meetings, door-to-door sensitization, and poster campaigns across 205 enumeration areas and 6,150 households.

?Our aim is to saturate the communities with AIS messages and ensure households cooperate with field workers,? he said.

The survey is supported by PEPFAR, US CDC, NACA, NCDC, LSACA, and other implementing partners, and is expected to help Lagos strengthen HIV treatment coverage and viral suppression strategies. (The Nation)

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