LSACA, ECEWS strengthen collaboration to sustain HIV response in Lagos

By Adebola Muili

The Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA) and the Excellence Community Education Welfare Scheme (ECEWS) have strengthened their partnership to expand HIV testing and improve access to treatment and care across vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities in Lagos State.

The renewed collaboration was reinforced on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, when ECEWS donated two desktop computers and a laptop to LSACA to enhance the Agency’s operational capacity, data management and implementation of HIV programmes.

Presenting the equipment, the Team Lead of ECEWS, Dr. Andy Eyo, said strengthening LSACA’s logistics and data management infrastructure was essential to sustaining community-level HIV testing interventions agreed upon by both organisations.

Eyo also commended LSACA for its prompt response in providing HIV test kits, noting that the cooperation between both organisations was helping to ensure sustained and barrier-free access to HIV testing among vulnerable populations in the state.

Receiving the equipment, the Chief Executive Officer of LSACA, Dr. Folakemi Animashaun, expressed appreciation to ECEWS for the donation, saying institutional support was important to achieving the state’s objective of expanding HIV testing coverage.

Animashaun also acknowledged the support of the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, particularly his intervention in addressing challenges surrounding the availability of antiretroviral (ARV) commodities.

“I will say a big thank you to our Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Sometime last year, I met with him and told him that we had a problem with the stock of ARVs,” she said.

According to her, the Governor, after being briefed on the situation, assured that the state would address the shortfall.

“He said, ‘Lagos will fill the space.’ Since then, the Governor has fulfilled that promise,” Animashaun stated.

The LSACA chief executive disclosed that the state had received initial batches of newly procured ARV commodities, with additional consignments expected.

She explained that the availability of the commodities would strengthen the expanded testing and treatment pathways being developed by LSACA in collaboration with partners such as ECEWS.

Animashaun assured residents and stakeholders that the Agency would continue to publicise the availability of HIV commodities and work to ensure that health facilities and community structures remained adequately supplied.

The engagement ended with both organisations reaffirming their commitment to deploying the newly donated equipment and other resources toward building a more resilient, well-equipped and sustainable HIV response in Lagos State.