Nigeria: NACA unveils HIV/AIDS centre at BUK

TO create more awareness on the dangers of HIV/AIDS and curtail its spread among the youths, Bayero University, Kano in collaboration with the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), has launched a center for inclusive counseling and conducting tests.

The unveiling of the new, fully equipped edifice, located on the university campus and funded by a commercial bank, coincided with the official presentation of the University’s 19-page HIV/AIDS Policy document, which highlights its goals and objectives.



Available records from NACA indicated a 4.1 per cent prevalence of the scourge in the country, with over 11 million people living with disease in Kano, which is ranked among the 12 states in which the disease is most prevalent. Nigeria is next to South Africa with the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the world.

Speaking at the occasion, Director General of NACA Prof. John Idoko said the agency conceptualized the idea of having HIV/AIDS Youth Friendly Centres across the country, backed by a public private partnership, as part of measures to check the spread of the disease among vulnerable youths. According to him, universities and other institutions of higher learning were considered strategic sites for the centres.

Represented by Assistant Director, Resource Mobilization at NACA, Dr. Emmanuel Al Hassan, the Director General said: “the conceptualization of a Youth friendly Centre is designed for counseling and to test individuals for the HIV virus. We trained the counselors that will offer services and the center will give free counseling on the scourge and other areas, like career counseling, drug addiction and others.”

On the rationale behind the choice of the university, Al Hassan explained: “Bayero University Kano has a population density of youths and it is located at the heart of the second most populated city in the country, with diverse communities in and around it.”

Chairman of the occasion and Head of Clinical Services,  Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Dr. Hadiza Galandanci, expressed concern on the health burden of HIV/AIDS on the victims in the country, due to lack of efficient facilities.

While stressing an urgent need for youths to avail themselves of the opportunity provided by the centre, she noted that the disease has taken another worrisome dimension with the prevalence of mother to child spread.

The vice chancellor, Prof. Abdulrasheed Abubakar affirmed that the initiative would further propel the university’s new policy on HIV/AIDS.