Kebbi State’s HIV/AIDS Eradication Gets Support from IHS Towers and USAID

IHS Towers, a global provider of communications infrastructure, gave a gift donation to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to support initiatives aimed at eliminating HIV and AIDS in Kebbi State. A component of USAID’s efforts to involve the private sector in Nigeria’s healthcare system is the donation of 75,300 HIV quick test kits.

The investment from IHS Towers will bolster ongoing efforts by the US government to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Kebbi State. The test kits will help antenatal clinics avoid mother-to-child HIV transmission and give many young children and other at-risk groups access to vital HIV testing services.

At the handover ceremony, Deputy Director HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis Office USAID/Nigeria, Omosalewa Oyelaran, stated that the organization’s mission was to work with the Nigerian government to manage the epidemic while developing a sustainable framework for HIV in Nigeria. “Today’s partnership with IHS Towers will strengthen the nation’s ability to become more self-sufficient and promote local solutions.

This collaboration with IHS, which builds on an earlier effort in Bayelsa state, has benefited Kebbi State, the second state in Nigeria.

Speaking at the occasion, Samaila Dabai, the deputy governor of Kebbi State, said that these fast test kits will help to run the state’s HIV and AIDS elimination program effectively and will increase access to high-quality healthcare for the people of the state.

Through USAID, the US government offers comprehensive HIV care and treatment to 691,000 persons in 17 states, and it also supplies 1.9 million HIV-positive Nigerians with life-saving antiretroviral drugs. Through its Accelerating Control of the HIV Epidemic Project, USAID offers HIV care and treatment to more over 16,000 adults and children in Kebbi State.