NIGERIA. Abuja: Nigerian President, Mohammadu Buhari has advocated for the swift response to end Human Immune Virus (HIV) infections and Acquired Immune Deficiency (AIDS) Syndrome in Nigeria by 2030 as he believes that it is the ‘right of every family’.
“Ending HIV/AIDS is the right of every family. Therefore the government will do all it can to eliminate the transmitted virus in the country,” Buhari said while speaking at the official launching of the N62.1 billion HIV trust fund in Abuja.
The event was organized to reduce the funding deficit and help people living with HIV with their treatments.
“We will continue to use the federal government’s available resources to make sure that the disease is reduced to the nearest minimum and contained”.
“Ending AIDS in Nigeria will require more commitment and more robust funding but it will as well enhance public health services,” Buhari noted.
“However, strong domestic resource mobilization with an enduring partnership and shared responsibility is required to sustain the response to HIV and other emerging public health emergencies,” Buhari said.
Secretary to the Government of Federation, (SGF), Boss Mustapha was also a part of the event. While addressing the issue of HIV in Nigeria he said, “Today is specially set aside to make sure that every child in Nigeria is HIV free right from their birth”.
The trust fund is aimed at giving more attention to the health sector and to ensure that no child dies from HIV diseases.
Since 2005, about $6.2 billion has been spent on HIV response in Nigeria. Mustapha said that about 80 percent of these funds were contributed by external donors, mainly the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
62.1 Billion Trust Fund
In his remark, the Director-General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Gambo Aliyu, said that the fund will help in eliminating the spread of HIV.
Aliyu noted that the program will finance to provide sustainable ways of partnering private and international health sectors in terms of resources and financial management as well to reduce Mother to Child Transmission of HIV in the country.
The fund will improve efforts to ensure coverage of high-impact HIV interventions that will provide the requisite treatment for HIV-positive mothers.
“It will also contribute to closing the funding gap for HIV in Nigeria that currently stands at about U$108 million per annum,” Aliyu said.
Also Read: One Out of Seven Children in Nigeria are HIV Positive: UNICEF
