HIV: US Has Contributed $6bn In Nigeria Towards Tackling It

Yesterday, during the unveiling of a publication on Nigeria’s strides in confronting HIV in Abuja, Mary Beth Leonard, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, said that over the past 35 years, the United States government has contributed $6 billion to assist Nigeria in her fight against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

According to her, the US government, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), had improved the access to HIV treatment services in every corner of Nigeria.

“It is truly an honor to join you today to reflect upon the success of Nigeria’s HIV response over the past 35 years. When Nigeria’s first case was reported in 1986, it marked the beginning of what appeared to be an unstoppable epidemic. The launching of the New Dawn publication takes us back into history when an AIDS-Free generation seemed unimaginable. But today, we have come to celebrate that the impossible is possible and reaching HIV epidemic control is a reality for Nigeria!

“The US government through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has improved access to HIV treatment services to every corner of this country. We are most proud of how we reached this point together. Our key partnerships with the national and state governments, UNAIDS, and the Global Fund were instrumental in determining what systems and strategy we needed to gain traction and outpace HIV.

Read Also: UNAIDS: Globally, 1 In 7 Children Born With HIV Is Nigerian

“Since 2003, the United States has contributed over $6 billion to strengthen the systems side of the equation to train and recruit hundreds of thousands of health workers, upgrade existing laboratories infrastructures to world class status and develop the most up-to-date data management and supply chain systems to advance the government of Nigeria’s ability to deliver comprehensive HIV services.”

The Ambassador explained that the current targeted strategy had been based on the Ministry of Health’s highly successful population-based survey, the Nigerian AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS).

“The data we received allowed us to zoom in on reaching 95-95-95 goals as it informed our ART Surge strategy to target treatment for populations of unknown HIV status and enlist governors and religious and traditional leaders for state-level buy-in. The result of this unprecedented achievement and journey with the Nigeria Government is what we celebrate today in this publication led by the UNAIDS country team.”

According to the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, the world body was inspired by Nigeria’s exemplary start to the epidemic (1986-2004) and the 2018 Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey, the largest population-based HIV survey in the world.

He stated that during the time of Prof. Isaac Adewole, the former Minister of Health, and Dr. Sani Aliyu, the former Director General of the National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS (NACA), the New Dawn initiative was conceptualized. More than 150 people who were chronicled in the New Dawn publication contributed to, fought against, and experienced the evolution of the response at one time or another.