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4YBY Set to Promote HIV Self-Testing Habit Among Young Nigerians
An NGO Named ‘For Nigerian Youth by Nigerian Youth (4YBY)’ has launched campaign to promote HIV self-testing habit among young Nigerians.
This comes at a time when rates of new HIV cases have plummeted, even in far poorer countries.
According to UNAIDS 2018 estimates, Nigeria accounted for 240,000 of the world’s 2.1 million cases of young people living with HIV, thus setting the country as the second hardest-hit country in the world.
It is stated that one in five Nigerian youth have not tested for HIV and only 24% have full knowledge of HIV transmission. There is an urgent need to change this.
Thus a collaborative effort between Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) and several U.S. universities such as the Saint Louis University, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill alongside local Nigerian partners such as the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency, ID Africa and Pinpoint Media, have led to the launch of a For Youth by Youth Campaign (4YBY) to achieve an AIDS-FREE Generation in Nigeria.
The 4YBY is a team of young people, health professionals, activists, and entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds, united by a shared passion to advance Nigerian youth participation in HIV prevention.
Led by Drs. Ezechi, Iwelunmor and Tucker and a team of youth ambassadors, entrepreneurs and public health advocates, the mission of the 4YBY campaign is to promote Nigerian youth participation in innovation and entrepreneurship that will lead to sustainable solutions for HIV prevention in Nigeria.
Like it or not, young people are the key to ending the AIDS epidemic. They hold answers and solutions to pressing questions such as why young people do not test for HIV or how to promote HIV testing among young people?
As a result, to kick-off the 4YBY campaign in Nigeria, a World AIDS Day Contest (December 1ST, 2018) is planned with the goal to generate ideas from Nigerian youth themselves on how to promote HIV self-testing among youth in Nigeria.
HIV self-testing (HIVST) is a type HIV testing in which a person collects his or her own specimen (e.g. oral fluid or blood) using a simple rapid HIV test and then performs the test and interpret the result, often in a private setting, either alone or with someone he or she trusts.
It is a discreet, convenient and empowering way test and it has the potential to reach Nigerian youth who may not otherwise test.
The 4YBY campaign is centered around Increasing HIV self- testing among at-risk youth in Nigeria, providing other essential HIV prevention services such as testing for other sexually-transmitted infections, while linking those who test positive into care and treatment.
Speaking on behalf of the 4YBY campaign, Dr. Iwelunmor said, “our goal is to unleash Nigerian youth’s participation and innovation and creativity in decision making that affects their lives, starting with HIV prevention.
“We don’t mean to minimize the challenges of addressing health in Nigeria, challenges of which many of us in the health sphere are well aware.
“But as we shall see with the 4YBY campaign, these challenges also provide opportunities for youth-inspired solutions that are often missing or not given the space to flourish.
“We believe that Nigerian youth can lead the way with ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat.”
According to Dr. Ezechi, “youth participation in social innovations to promote HIV Self-Testing, can help lay the groundwork not only for a vibrant economy, but for more effective youth friendly health services serving young people themselves.
“NIMR and our partners are prepared to help Nigerian youth unlock their potential so that we can achieve an AIDS-FREE generation in Nigeria. “
Union Bank of Nigeria has secured certification under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) version 4.0.1, a global standard for protecting payment card data.
The certification took effect on August 11, 2026, confirming that the bank’s systems for storing, processing and transmitting customers’ credit and debit card information meet stringent international security requirements.
PCI DSS certification is designed to reduce the risk of payment card data breaches and financial fraud while strengthening customer confidence in electronic payment systems.
The assessment covered key areas of Union Bank’s operations, including network infrastructure, card issuance, ATM and POS transactions, payment processing, reconciliation, settlement, chargebacks, dispute resolution and retail banking.
Union Bank was assessed and certified under the Service Provider category.
The certification process lasted a full year and involved quarterly assessments, with support from departmental, business and functional heads across the bank. Digital security firm Digital Encode supported the process, while the final independent audit was conducted by CyberCube, an accredited Qualified Security Assessor.
Yetunde B. Oni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, said the certification demonstrates the bank’s commitment to protecting customer information.
“The security of our customers’ information is central to everything we do at Union Bank. This certification reaffirms that our payment systems and processes meet a rigorous global standard, and it reflects the discipline of colleagues across the Bank who work every day to keep customer data safe.”
The renewal also ensures that Union Bank maintains continuous PCI DSS certification, in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s requirement for banks to sustain compliance without interruption.
New data from CFA Society Nigeria is reshaping how the country’s financial sector thinks about talent development, with Access emerging as the single largest source of CFA candidates in Nigeria, distinction industry watchers say signals a deeper shift in how leading institutions are building investment expertise from within.
In its Where Nigeria’s Finance Professionals Work series, published in a national daily, CFA Society Nigeria placed Access first among employers of CFA candidates nationwide, with 82 candidates enrolled in the programme, more than double the 38 recorded at the next-placed institution and well ahead of every other bank or financial services firm on the list.
Access also ranked second among employers of CFA charterholders, with 11 professionals who have completed all three levels of the Programme and met its experience and ethics requirements.
For an industry that has long measured itself by balance sheet size and branch count, the rankings point to a different kind of competition: one over who is building the deepest bench of certified, globally credentialed talent.
CFA Society Nigeria compiled the data from its Salesforce Membership Database as at June 2026, and described the exercise as a way of recognising employers whose people “bring rigour, integrity and global best practices into the workplace every day.”
Analysts following the sector say the outcome is notable less for the ranking itself than for what it suggests about talent strategy across Africa’s financial services industry. A single institution developing more aspiring charterholders than the rest of the market combined raises the floor for professional standards nationally, not just within one balance sheet.
Every candidate who advances through the CFA Programme adds to a shared pool of ethics-trained, analytically rigorous professionals that Nigeria’s capital markets, pension funds and asset managers all eventually draw from.
Access Holdings Group Chief Executive Officer Innocent C. Ike, commenting on the rankings, framed the achievement in terms of institution-building rather than recruitment: “Every candidate on that list represents our commitment to building institutions and professionals that endure.”
The remark echoes a broader thesis increasingly voiced by market observers, that talent depth, not scale alone, is what will determine which African financial institutions earn lasting global credibility.
That distinction sits at the centre of Access’s stated ambition to become the World’s Most Respected African Financial Services Group. If the CFA numbers are any indication, the Group’s route to that goal runs less through square metres of branch network and more through the calibre of the people sitting inside it, a bet that Nigeria’s finance professionals, and the institutions that will one day hire them, are already placing alongside Access.
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced plans to introduce Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) baggage tracking technology across domestic and international airport terminals to tackle the growing problem of delayed, misrouted and missing luggages
Michael Achimugu, director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCAA, disclosed this at a stakeholder engagement forum in Lagos.
Achimugu said the RFID-enabled system would replace the traditional barcode-based baggage tracking framework and provide airlines and passengers with real-time visibility of checked luggage from check-in to final collection.
According to him, the technology would improve baggage traceability, reduce mishandling and strengthen accountability across the baggage-handling chain.
Unlike conventional barcode systems, RFID technology allows baggage to be automatically scanned at multiple points without requiring direct line of sight, enabling real-time tracking of luggage throughout its journey.
Achimugu said issues involving short-landed, missing, lost or damaged baggage had remained among the major complaints from air travellers, alongside flight delays.
He said the introduction of RFID technology was therefore aimed at improving baggage-handling standards and restoring passenger confidence in the aviation sector.
The NCAA said the initiative also aligns with IATA Resolution 753, which requires airlines to track baggage at key points during the passenger journey.
The authority expects the technology to provide more accurate information on the location of luggage, facilitate quicker resolution of baggage-related complaints and improve the overall passenger experience.
The NCAA said the initiative would also strengthen accountability among airlines and other stakeholders involved in baggage handling at Nigerian airports.
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