Kwara earmarks N700m to tackle HIV/AIDS

The Kwara State Government has set aside more than N700m to tackle HIV/AIDS scourge in the state, the Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Issa Kayode, has said.

Kayode stated this in Ilorin on Friday at the inauguration of the State Management Team on HIV/AIDS.

Giving a breakdown of the amount, Kayode said N57m would be spent for the establishment of a new centre for HIV/AIDS treatment in the state.

He said N651.2m was also set aside as the government’s counterpart fund to the National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS (NACA) for the 2014 HIV/AIDs programmes.

He said the Kwara State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS had purchased various equipment and test kits for the programme.

This, he said, was to support government’s efforts in reducing the menace of the pandemic in the state.

Kayode said the inauguration of the State Management Team on HIV/AIDS programme would further ensure ownership and sustainability of the programme.

Project Manager and Secretary of KWASACA, Dr Johnson Adegboyega, said the meeting was organised to sensitise and educate the people on the workings of the team.