By InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Kogi State last Friday commended Ecobank Nigeria and the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) for their support towards the eradication of the deadly HIV/AIDS disease from the country.
A statement from the lender quoted Idris Wada, governor of the state and represented by Idris Omede, commissioner for health.
This came on the heels of a ground- breaking ceremony for the building of a Youth Friendly Centre at the Kogi State University, Anyigba.
According to Ecobank Nigeria, the centre is designed to engage students in recreational activities, while providing a setting for dissemination of information on HIV/AIDS in a non-threatening manner.
Similarly, the centre will also provide a unique opportunity for students to go for HIV counselling and testing in a ‘friendly’ environment. “The centre has four (4) sections games bay, library with HIV/AIDS material, internet cafe/CD and video room and allied services section,” the statement affirmed.
Omede said the decision of Ecobank to finance the centre was commendable, and would go a long way in checking the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the state and the country.
“This Ecobank-NACA initiative is commendable. This will complement our efforts at tackling the scourge of the disease in the state. The disease has both social and economic impacts and there is need to scale up interventions to reduce new infections and minimize effects of the virus. The government is firmly in support of projects such as this to check the epidemic,” the state commissioner for health added.
Tony Okpanachi, deputy managing director (DMD), in his address said the vision of the centre stems from the desire to use all available opportunity to give back and contribute effectively towards the society in which the bank operates.
“We believe young people need a friendly, non-threatening environment that would offer recreational facilities and at the same time provide free guidance and counselling and access to information on reproductive health issues and HIV/AIDS,” Okpanachi noted.
He further affirmed that the centres which have already been established in seven (7) tertiary institutions in the country are designed to disseminate information on HIV/AIDS, assuring that the centre in Kogi State University will be completed on schedule.
On his part, Hassan Isah, vice chancellor, Kogi State University, Anyigba, disclosed that the centre will be beneficial to the University Community which harbours about 25, 000 youths, assuring that the facility will be put to good use.
“We are deeply elated that Ecobank and NACA selected our school for this project and indeed the first state university to be selected in the country. Our obligations which includes the provision of guidance counsellors, centre administrator, volunteer peer educators, cleaners and security personnel will be honoured to the latter, while financial obligations to ensure a proper take off and functioning of the centre, will be pursued with vigour,” the vice chancellor added.
While John Idoko, director general (DG), NACA, also represented by Emmanuel Alhassan, director, Partnerships Coordination, praised the partnership with Ecobank which has seen to the establishment of such centres in eight (8) tertiary institutions across the country.
“We will provide oversight functions for the centre, to ensure adherence to standards, aside from being responsible for providing the technical assistance and capacity building for the staff of the centre, as well as the facilitation of relevant materials. The centre will also provide counselling and guidance on HIV/AIDS, career, emotional issues and all that,” Alhassan said.
The NACA-Ecobank Youth Friendly Centres have been established in University of Uyo; University of Jos; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; University of Port Harcourt; University of Abuja; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (Kongo Campus) and the Bayero University, Kano.
