The Lagos State Government, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health through the National AIDS and STIs Control Programme (NASCP) and key international partners including the APIN-PHIS3 Project, PEPFAR, US CDC, NACA and other stakeholders, has launched the Nigeria State-Level Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Impact Survey (AIS) in Lagos.
The town hall meeting, held on Tuesday in Ikeja, brought together government officials, development partners, health experts and community leaders under the theme: “Every Step Counts: Towards an HIV-Free Nigeria.”
The survey will cover 205 enumeration areas, 6,150 households and approximately 11,397 participants across the 20 Local Government Areas of Lagos State. It aims to estimate HIV treatment coverage and viral load suppression among adults aged 15–64 years.
Declaring the meeting open, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, emphasized the importance of the exercise in strengthening evidence-based planning for HIV response.
He urged field workers to handle their tasks diligently, noting: “Even though you are one individual in one community, the results you generate will shape national health planning. The success of this survey depends on every one of us.”
Deputy Director of Epidemiology and Strategic Information at the U.S. CDC, Dr. Ibrahim Dalhatu, described the initiative as “people-centred” despite its scientific basis. “This is ultimately about people—the same people who will be engaged and who will benefit from the exercise,” he said.
Representing the National Coordinator of NASCP, Dr. Adebola Bashorun, Deputy Director of Prevention at NASCP, Dr. Chioma Ukanwa, described the AIS as a globally recognised exercise critical to achieving epidemic control. She urged community leaders to sensitize residents, stressing that cooperation with data collectors would determine the survey’s success.
Deputy Director, Department of Surveillance at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Williams Nwachukwu, assured of NCDC’s technical support to ensure quality data collection and analysis, adding “We are here to ensure that data and samples are properly preserved, tested and analysed with feedback provided”.
Director of Disease Control, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Victoria Egunjobi, underscored the importance of community trust and participation, adding “Gone are the days when HIV was shrouded in stigma. Today, people living with HIV deserve dignity, respect and universal access to healthcare”.
In his presentation on the Community Mobilization and Advocacy Strategy of the Survey, Lagos State AIDS Programme Coordinator, Dr. Oladipupo Fisher, explained that the AIS would rely heavily on grassroots participation to succeed. He outlined that the survey will deploy 30 teams supported by mobilizers tasked with sensitizing communities.
