The Nigeria HIV and AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) says the team will be moving into Borno and Yobe States on the final round of the exercise.
Dr Adebobola Bashorun, the Advocacy and Mobilisation Manager of the team, made this known in a statement made available to the Journalists on Monday in Abuja.
Bashorun noted that both states had to be considered among the last to be covered because of the unpredictable situation caused by activities of insurgents in the area.
“All key stakeholders gathered at the NAIIS Central Office in Abuja for a thorough review of the process guiding the survey in Webs 5 and 6 states in Nigeria.
“Participants were drawn from the Central, Zonal and State Teams as well as security personnel with insights into how to navigate the tough terrains in some states of the country, especially the North East states of Yobe and Borno.
“The gathering was aimed at reviewing the geographic outlay of the states to be visited, their current status based on their volatility and strategies to aid coverage, in spite of their inherent challenges,’’ Bashorun said.
The statement also quoted Dr Aliyu Gumel, the Chief of Party of NAIIS, as saying that specific attention must be given to the safety of the field teams as they visited the area.
“As we proceed into the final phase of the survey, all hands must be on deck to ensure the safety of all data collectors, as well as community mobilisers as they visit these regions.
“No one can dispute how committed and audacious the entire team has been so far as they kept on moving even in tough places.
“We seek for maximum support from state governments and security personnel as we move towards the last web states in the survey.
“No stone should be left unturned as we bank on the leadership of the government of Nigeria to record success in all the states,” Gumel said.
NAN
