KEY POINTS
- NACA has inaugurated the Anambra State Technical Team to conduct the Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance Study.
- The study will test about 1,200 individuals among key populations including sex workers and men who have sex with men.
- The program targets HIV epidemic control by 2030 in line with the World Health Organization’s goal.
Tope Ilori, the director-general of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, has inaugurated a new technical team in Anambra State to drive a fresh wave of HIV epidemic control. The team will run a data-led survey of key populations across the state, with testing kits and antiretroviral support ready to deploy.
The inauguration took place Tuesday at the 2026 IBBSS Entry Meeting at the Anambra State AIDS Control Agency office in the old Government House in Awka. NACA picked Anambra as one of 12 states for the Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance Study this year.
A data-driven survey
Specifically, Ilori urged the technical team, led by Anambra State AIDS Control Agency Executive Director Nkem Okeke, to use the survey to identify people living with HIV. He said testing, antiretroviral therapy and other support will follow, with the aim of reaching viral suppression across the state.
Okeke said the team would canvass key populations, including sex workers and men who have sex with men. The state’s high HIV prevalence drove its inclusion in the program alongside the 11 other states. The survey, he said, is critical to mounting an effective response. “Due to the high prevalence of HIV in the state, Anambra was chosen alongside 11 other states in the country,” Okeke said.
Furthermore, Okeke credited Governor Chukwuma Soludo with creating the enabling environment and providing technical support that made the survey possible. The state government’s backing, he said, was essential to landing the program in Anambra.
Notably, the program will test no fewer than 1,200 individuals. Okeke also thanked the Federal Ministry of Health and NACA for picking Anambra as one of the focus states, calling the move a vote of confidence in the state’s health systems.
A new generation of testing
Chukwuemeka Ejekam, acting chief executive officer of the West African Centre for Public Health and Development, said the center is implementing the 2026 IBBSS program. The initiative targets key populations with the goal of reducing HIV cases and reaching epidemic control by 2030, the deadline set by the World Health Organization.
Specifically, Ejekam said testing in Anambra will rely on new kits that can identify and confirm new infections within two weeks. Older test kits, by comparison, often took up to six months to deliver definitive results.
Additionally, Ejekam pledged that his organization will provide the state with the support needed to roll out a data-driven intelligence program for HIV/AIDS response. Faster turnaround, in his telling, means faster intervention and better outcomes.
With the technical team now in place and testing kits ready to deploy, Anambra can now generate the kind of granular data that has historically been thin in HIV programming across Nigeria. Crucially, the survey results will shape the next phase of antiretroviral distribution, behavioral interventions and resource allocation across the state. Whether the program meets its 2030 targets will depend on whether the data turns into action quickly enough. The clock is already ticking.
