Milestone achievement as National Council on AIDS approved the reduction of age consent
On 19th and 20th March, Nigeria PITCH AGYW team which is under the coordination of Education as a Vaccine participated in the Technical and Council sessions of the National Council on AIDS during its Annual Meeting where stakeholders discussed issues on coordination of all intervention programmes, establishment of minimum standards, unity, and cooperation to end AIDS in Nigeria.
The National Council on AIDS is the highest technical and policy advisory body on HIV in the country, and is charged with the onus of providing guidance to the government on national and international issues on HIV/AIDS.
On the first day of the Annual Meeting, the technical session met to deliberate on the memoranda presented by different Civil Society Organisations and made recommendations for the considerations of the Council. These recommendations were reviewed for approval by the Council.
Education as a Vaccine and Association of Positive Youths Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria had submitted memoranda to the National Council on AIDS. In their submissions, they recommended lowering Age of Consent for 
access to HIV and SRH services for Adolescents and Young People (10-24 years) that will enable them to have access to testing and treatment. The recommendation is one of the Asks in the ongoing PITCH AGYW project. This was approved by the Council.
For us at EVA, and other implementing partners, it was a significant step towards the actualization of the project’s goal.
The Council is chaired by the Director-General of National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr Sani Aliyu. In attendance were the Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria, Board Members of NACA, senior representatives from the Federal Ministry of Health, States AIDS Control Agency (SACA), Representatives of UN Agencies in Nigeria, CSO representatives, health workers, etc.