The Plateau AIDS Control Agency (PLACA) has inaugurated the 2026 World AIDS Day Planning and Organising Committee, with a charge to members to work collectively towards a successful commemoration and renewed commitment to the fight against HIV and AIDS in Plateau State.
Inaugurating the committee, the Executive Director of PLACA, Mrs Esther Turaki, said the annual World AIDS Day provides an important platform to raise awareness about HIV, promote prevention, testing and treatment, address stigma and discrimination, remember people and communities affected by HIV and AIDS, and renew commitment to sustaining the HIV response.
Mrs Turaki said the committee was constituted to ensure effective coordination, broad stakeholder participation and successful implementation of activities marking the 2026 World AIDS Day in the state.
She explained that as the coordinating agency for the HIV response in Plateau State, PLACA would continue to work with government institutions, development and implementing partners, civil society organisations, networks of people living with HIV, the private sector, media, communities and other stakeholders to strengthen the state’s response to HIV.
According to her, the committee is expected to develop and coordinate the 2026 World AIDS Day activity plan, ensure alignment with approved global and national priorities, mobilise stakeholders, and coordinate advocacy, media, publicity and community mobilisation activities.
She further charged members to promote HIV prevention, testing, treatment and viral suppression, while supporting efforts to reduce stigma and discrimination and uphold the human rights of people living with HIV.
The Executive Director emphasised the importance of meaningful participation by people living with HIV, young people, women and communities in the commemoration, noting that their inclusion would contribute to a more effective and people-centred HIV response.
Mrs Turaki urged members to bring their expertise, commitment and networks to bear in delivering on the mandate of the committee, while assuring them of PLACA’s support and leadership throughout the planning and implementation process.
She noted that the committee would also be responsible for coordinating logistics and protocol for the main state event, monitoring and documenting activities, preparing reports, identifying lessons learned and making recommendations for future World AIDS Day commemorations.
Responding, the Chairman of the 2026 World AIDS Day Planning and Organising Committee, Professor Esther Yiltok, pledged the total commitment of members towards actualising the mandate entrusted to them.
Professor Yiltok assured PLACA and other stakeholders that the committee would work diligently and collaboratively to ensure that the objectives of the 2026 World AIDS Day commemoration were achieved.
She said members were prepared to deploy their individual expertise and experience, work closely with relevant stakeholders and maintain effective coordination throughout the planning and implementation process.
The Chairman also emphasised the importance of teamwork, timely execution and broad stakeholder engagement in ensuring that the activities would have meaningful impact across Plateau State.
The committee comprises representatives from the State AIDS and STI Control Programme (SASCP), implementing partners, networks of people living with HIV, civil society and community organisations, the media, Plateau State Agency for the Control of AIDS (PACA), Disability Rights Commission and PLACA.
The Executive Director, PLACA, provides overall leadership and oversight, while designated PLACA officers will serve as the secretariat.
The committee may also establish sub-committees to support programme and technical activities, advocacy and publicity, stakeholder mobilisation, logistics and protocol, finance and resource mobilisation, as well as documentation and reporting.
The committee is expected to produce a comprehensive 2026 World AIDS Day activity plan and programme, implementation timeline and budget, stakeholder mobilisation and communication plan, documentation and final report, as well as lessons learned and recommendations.
The committee will remain in place from the date of inauguration until the completion and documentation of the World AIDS Day activities and submission of its final report.
