The Oyo State Government has reiterated its commitment to strengthening evidence-based HIV prevention strategies through improved data collection and research.
The Chairman of the Oyo State Agency for the Control of AIDS (OYSACA), Dr Gbola Adetunji, stated this at the flag-off of the 2026 Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance Survey (IBBSS) training for relevant stakeholders in the state.
Adetunji described the survey as a critical public health initiative that would provide the evidence needed to understand emerging HIV trends, identify service gaps and guide the effective allocation of resources.
He said the 2026 IBBSS would generate information on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, beliefs, risk behaviours, access to HIV prevention and care services, HIV status awareness and treatment uptake among key populations, including female sex workers, men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs.
According to him, findings from previous IBBSS rounds revealed a significant HIV burden among key populations, making updated data essential for assessing the impact of interventions and shaping future programming.
The OYSACA chairman called for stronger community participation, stressing that key population communities should be regarded as partners in the HIV response rather than merely respondents.
He assured the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), the West Africa Centre for Public Health and Development (WACPHD), development partners and other stakeholders of Oyo State’s continued support towards the successful implementation of the survey.
Representing the Director-General of NACA, Dr Temitope Ilori, Mr Joseph Terry described the IBBSS as a national survey whose protocol had been reviewed by the IBBSS Technical Working Group and approved by the Federal Ministry of Health.
The representative of WACPHD, Mr Chukwebuka Ejeckam, said the organisation was providing technical support for the implementation of the 2026 IBBSS, which is being conducted simultaneously in 12 states across the country.
He said the 2020 IBBSS recorded HIV prevalence rates of 15.5 per cent among female sex workers and 10.9 per cent among people who inject drugs, underscoring the need for updated data to assess progress and determine the impact of ongoing interventions.
The Oyo State Implementation Coordinator, Mr Aduluju Ayodeji, said the field team would work across the three selected key population typologies and appealed for the cooperation of community members and eligible participants.
Also speaking, the Acting Coordinating Director of OYSACA, Mrs Fausat Okanlawon, described the IBBSS as more than a routine survey, noting that its findings would serve as a critical guide for Nigeria’s HIV response among key populations.
The training, held in Ibadan, formed part of preparations for the nationwide survey aimed at generating current and reliable behavioural and biological data on HIV among key populations.
