The National Agency for the Control of AIDS and the National Emergency Management Agency have agreed to work together to include HIV prevention and treatment services in emergency and disaster response systems.
This commitment followed a courtesy visit by NACA’s Director General, Dr. Temitope Ilori, to NEMA headquarters in Abuja on Thursday.
In a statement released by NACA on Friday, the agency said the partnership aims to ensure that vulnerable populations, especially Internally Displaced Persons, have access to HIV prevention tools, testing, and treatment during emergencies.
Dr. Ilori praised NEMA’s efforts in managing national emergencies and stressed the importance of linking public health with disaster response.
“There is a need to ensure that IDPs and other vulnerable populations have access to HIV prevention tools, testing services, and treatment during crises,” Ilori said.
She added that both agencies were committed to strengthening the health and resilience of affected communities.
NEMA’s Director General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, described the meeting as both timely and strategic. She said both agencies share a similar mission of coordination—NEMA in disaster management and NACA in the HIV response.
“NEMA and NACA share a common goal of coordination. While NEMA coordinates disaster response, NACA coordinates the national HIV response. Synergy between both agencies is essential for building community resilience,” Umar said.
She added that prevention remains the agency’s main focus, noting that “the more resilience we build, the fewer victims we will have and the fewer resources we will need to spend on emergency responses.”
Umar also admitted that most IDP camps do not include HIV assessments in their health evaluations. She called for HIV testing, care, and prevention services to be introduced in such camps, with attention to issues of stigma and confidentiality.
She expressed interest in NACA’s preventive tools and medications, noting that long-term IDP settlements often involve adult cohabitation, which makes access to HIV prevention even more necessary.
