International Community of Women Living With HIV, West Africa, (ICWWA), has called for investment in community-led response towards ending Gender-based Violence (GBV) as it relates to HIV in Nigeria.
The group made the call as it marked its 16 days of activism on GBV, themed: “Invest to prevent violence against women and girls” in Abuja.
The regional director of ICWWA, Assumpta Ukam, in her opening remarks at the event stated that embracing community sensitisation on GBV and HIV is currently the cheapest and effective model.
She emphasised the need to tackle GBV as a precursor to mental health and HIV.
Acknowledging the positive strides in the national strategic plan to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, Ukam raised concern about the susceptibility of Nigerian women and girls to diseases, social vices, and limited knowledge of accessible healthcare services.
On the challenges faced by the organisation, Ukam said, investments in community systems to drive reproductive health services are poor, inconsistent and done with little or no funding support.
Advocating for the scaling up of the community-led response programme, she emphasised the importance of involving women-led networks for comprehensive coverage of HIV thematic areas.
On his part, the UNAIDS country director, Dr Leo Zekeng urged collaboration with community leaders on GBV and HIV sensitisation.
He also called for girl child education as a means of enlightenment and empowerment.
Also, the coordinator for the National HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis and STIs Control Programme (NASCP), at the Federal Ministry of Health, Adebobola Bashorun, restated the government‘s commitment towards the safety and protection of citizens.
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