NYSC Receives 72,000 RDT Test Kits from NACA

By Adejumoke Alebiosu

National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, has commended National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) over the release of seventy-two thousand RDT test kits towards the success of the forthcoming 2021 Batch ‘B’ Stream Two Orientation Course.

NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim gave this commendation when he paid a courtesy to Dr Gambo Gumel Aliyu, Director-General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), in his office in Abuja recently.

Ibrahim said that the NYSC was the only agency where all Prospective Corps Members and other Camp participants are tested for COVID-19 before entering the camps. He added that only those that tested negative are allowed into the camps, while those that tested positive are taken away by the NCDC and State Health Officials for treatment.

‘This has availed the NCDC and the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 the opportunity to have the data analysis of COVID-19 in the country. We also extend our appreciation to General TY Danjuma Foundation for donating sixty-thousand test kits to NYSC,’ General Ibrahim added.

He promised a stronger synergy with NACA while he commended the Corps Members in NACA CDS Group for sensitising Nigerians on the scourge and dangers of HIV/AIDS. He assured the Corps Members of enhanced welfare package, admonishing them to contribute their quota to national development as they serve as good ambassadors of the NYSC.

Dr Gambo Gumel Aliyu said NACA and NYSC are critical stakeholders in effective healthcare delivery to all Nigerians. He said the transmission of HIV/AIDS was active among youths between age 22 and 25. He added that there should be a stronger synergy between the two agencies to stem the tide of the deadly virus with more sensitisation using Corps Members.

‘We have been working with the NYSC for quite sometime and this is the time when we need to have a renewed vigour in our efforts to work jointly to control the spread of HIV in Nigeria”, he said.

Corps Member Tolulope Abiola FC/20B/1830 and Daniel Osakhare FC/20B/1206, both serving at NACA expressed satisfaction at the level of mentorship being experienced in the agency.