Lagos State Partners Heartland Alliance To Commission General Purpose Clinic For HIV In Ikorodu
The Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA), in collaboration with Heartland Alliance Limited by Guarantee (HALG), has commissioned a comprehensive one-stop-shop clinic at the Ipakodo area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.
The Chief Executive Officer of LSACA, Dr. Monsurat Adeleke, reaffirmed the agency’s mandate to lead the State HIV response in a bid to stem the spread and mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on those infected and affected in Lagos State.
According to her, 2014 Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance Survey (IBBSS) findings showed that the key population has the highest HIV prevalence, hence, the need to provide HIV/AIDS interventions for these important groups in the population.
Dr. Adeleke noted that the Agency and the Ministry of Health have also been working closely with different stakeholders towards attaining the global eradication of new HIV infections by the year 2030, through the UNAIDS 90-90-90 initiative, that is; 90% of the people living with the virus should know their status, 90% of HIV positive individuals should be initiated on antiretroviral (ART) drugs and 90% of individuals on ART should achieve viral suppression.
She explained that Heartland Alliance Limited by Guarantee (HALG) has been providing support in the area of HIV prevention and treatment for over a decade and has consistently supported HIV interventions amongst the key population (KPs) in the State.
The CEO opined that, as part of the State HIV Consortium earlier inaugurated by the State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu in November 2019, and in the spirit of inclusive governance of the present administration, HALG programme implementation has significantly contributed to the equitable spread and access to quality HIV services across the State, irrespective of age, gender, social and economic status of the citizens.
The HALG one-stop-shop model clinic, according to her, entails comprehensive HIV prevention as well as treatment and care services for the target groups, noting that the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) clinic also provides testing and treatment for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), high-yielding community HIV testing strategies including index client testing, HIV Self-Testing and the Enhanced Peer Outreach Approach (EPOA).
Dr. Adeleke stated that, in a bid to ensure effective HIV service coverage for the key populations in the local government areas supported by Global Funds, (Ikorodu, Isolo and Epe), the Agency granted HALG approval to scale-up HIV services for the key population to bring the total number of LGAs where HALG is currently implementing HIV response programmes in Lagos to 13, namely Agege, Somolu, Surulere, Kosofe, Lagos Mainland, Apapa, Lagos Island, Ojo, Ajeromi, Badagry, Epe, Oshodi and Ikorodu.
While acknowledging the activities of HALG in HIV response, the Director of Community Prevention, Care and Support Services of the National Agency for the Control AIDS (NACA), Mr. Alex Ogundipe, who represented the Director-General of NACA, Dr. Gambo Aliyu, said that the one-stop-shop model of HALG allows for confidential care and support for KPs, thereby increasing the uptake of HIV prevention services.
In his remarks, the CEO of HALG, Dr. Bartholomew Ochonye expressed his appreciation to the Lagos State Government and LSACA for the provision of a large quantity of HIV Rapid Oral Test Kits for the various interventions.
