Nigeria needs $8bn yearly to sustain fight against HIV/AIDS

About $8bn is required annually to sustain the fight against HIV/AIDS in the country.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Control, Amobi Ogah, stated this at the opening of the 2024 Nigeria HIV prevention conference organised by the National Agency for the Control of AIDS in Abuja,

He noted that Nigeria can’t continue to depend on foreign aids for HIV response but need to mobilize domestic funding and take ownership of the HIV response.

He observed that Nigeria has an estimated 19.9 million people living with HIV /AIDS, while the target to eliminate Mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS by 2030 is still far from being achieved with about 22, 000 cases of Mother to child transmission of HIV being recorded every year in the country.

Ogah stressed the need to evaluate approaches towards achieving HIV epidemic control, promote an equitable and inclusive human rights-based approach to HIV prevention.

“For NACA to achieve her mandate, we must all ensure the increase of domestic funding, strengthening HIV interventions, mobilising community members for gender equality, social norms and gender equality in the optic of HIV prevention, treatment, and care service, particularly the PMTCT of HIV, support people living with and affected by HIV, the campaign against the stigmatisation and discrimination of persons living with HIV/AIDS, and ensure leadership action for these and key population communities among other interventions,” he said.

He called on NACA to increase the HIV treatment centers which is presently 100 to at least 300 centers before the end of 2024

“NACA will also need to scale up its treatment centres, which is about 100. I think we should increase it to at least 300 by the end of 2024. To stem the tide and sustain the fight to end HIV through AIDS as a public health threat, funding is critical. An estimated $8 billion is needed annually to sustain the fight against HIV AIDS,” he noted.

Ogah stated that there is a need to change the narrative by increasing local funding in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The lawmaker said that the committee will continue to advocate for an increase in funding to the sector, provide legislation that will promote comprehensive healthcare, support research, ensure access to quality treatment and strengthen partnerships crucial to the collective success.

“We will double up our oversight functions to ensure that funds budgeted for HIV/AIDS response are used for the purpose for which they are meant.

“The National Assembly, as a representative of our communities and people will continue to provide strong leadership that will engender robust collaborations and partnerships with relevant stakeholders and to achieve the focus set goal that HIV AIDS is no longer a public health threat in Nigeria by 2030,” he added.

In her remarks, the Director General of NACA, Dr Temitope Ilori noted that the theme for the conference “Accelerating Prevention to End AIDS through Innovations and Community Engagement,” underscores the importance of community involvement in shaping effective prevention strategies while ensuring access to treatment for those living with HIV/AIDS.

Ilori said despite the achievements made in the fight against the disease, the work is far from over hence, the need to redouble efforts to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV and strive for an AIDS-free generation by 2030, leveraging the advancements in health technology at our disposal.

She said, “Prevention lies at the core of our public health interventions. Therefore, this conference serves as a platform to explore innovative approaches to empower communities, particularly those at higher risk, with the knowledge and tools to protect themselves from HIV infection.

“Stigma and discrimination remain significant barriers to achieving our goals by 2030. We must educate and sensitise people about the harmful effects of stigma and discrimination against individuals living with HIV/AIDS. Our strategies must be inclusive, person-centred, and sensitive to the needs of adolescents, young people, key populations, and people living with HIV/AIDS. We must also focus on community-based interventions while promoting local ownership and sustainability of our response efforts,”.

Also speaking, the UNAIDS Country Director, Dr Leo Zekeng said reducing new HIV infections is possible because the country has the tools to provide combination prevention as prevention of HIV alone may not lead the country to achieve its goal.

According to him, ‘Everyone must be involved. We need to find out at the state level how much is put towards prevention, we need to political commitment. Investment in condoms has reduced, and data remains a challenge. So, this is the time to invest in primary prevention, and chart a new course on reducing new infections in Nigeria.”