The National AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) said it has recorded a 93 per cent response rate in six states.

NAIIS ‘s Director in charge of Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation, Adebobola Bashorun, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

NAN reports that the Nigerian government and U.S. had on May 10, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the National HIV and AIDS Indicator and Impact Assessment Survey scheduled from June to December.

The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole; Director-General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Sani Aliyu; and the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, signed the agreement in Abuja.

According to them, the MoU seeks to determine the true distribution of HIV and AIDS, Hepatitis B and C in Nigeria.

As part of the agreement, the U.S. government will provide adequate resources to end the epidemic before 2030.

Speaking with NAN on the update, Mr Bashorun said the agency was impressed with the results so far received from the states visited, saying the response rate was 30 points above the target rate of 63 per cent.

“Field activities have been on for close to five weeks; and during this period over 23,500 Nigerians have been reached in the six states under Web 1.

“The Web 1 states are Lagos, Enugu, Cross River, Nasarawa, Bauchi and Kano states, which were selected from each geo-political zone in the country.

“So far, the national response rate stands at approximately 93 per cent, which is 30 points above our target of 63 per cent.

“This reflects that the survey is on track and the results reflect hard work on going in the field and acceptance by the populace.

“Field teams across the country would be moving to the Web II states for survey data collection activities.

“They include Ogun, Jigawa, Abuja, Gombe, Port Harcourt and Anambra.

“There are six Web states and they will all be selected from each geo-political zone in the country till the survey comes to an end by December,” he said.

Mr Bashorun, however, acknowledged the support of the various states governments in the states visited, adding that they had been supportive in the provision of logistics and venues for field teams.

“In Bauchi State for instance, the state government through the efforts of the state commissioner for health and Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Health provided accommodation where commodities were kept.

“They also made provision for accommodation facilities for the field teams and a hall for routine review sessions.

“We are optimistic that the role of state governments in the implementation of NAIIS would go a long way in delivering a great survey for Nigeria.

“Given their proximity to the people, the infrastructure at their disposal amongst other things the integration of these resources will complement the resources of the donors in far reaching ways.

“We look forward to enjoying increased support from other state governments as well as the people of Nigeria,” he said.

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