From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar
The Cross River State government is planning to integrate its HIV response mechanism with the state’s health insurance scheme.
This initiative aims to reduce the financial burden on the less privileged and vulnerable populations, particularly orphans.
Dr. Charles Iwara, Director General of the State Agency for the Control of AIDS SACA, “We are making efforts to integrate the HIV response in the state with the health insurance scheme so that the pressure will be less on the less privileged, particularly orphans and vulnerable populations.”
The state government, he said also plans to conduct a survey to determine the accurate HIV prevalence rate in the state within the year.
Dr. Iwara welcomed partnerships with the AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Network (ATM Network) in community structures, which is a sustainable approach adopted by many countries.
The ATM Network is collaborating with the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) on the COVID-19 Response Mechanism/Resilient and Sustainable System for Health (C19RM) Grant.
This initiative uses a Community-Led Monitoring approach, engaging community stakeholders to take ownership of health interventions.
Victor Ogwuche, State Programme Officer of the Network explained that “By integrating communities and civil society organizations (CSOs) into the healthcare response, everyone can contribute to achieving positive results.”
The integration plan and community-led monitoring approach are expected to improve the state’s HIV response mechanism, making it more sustainable and effective.