Nigeria needs $8b yearly to fight HIV/AIDS, says House of Reps

Amobi Ogah
May 8, 2024

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Control, Amobi Ogah, has said Nigeria needs $8 billion yearly to combat HIV/AIDS as a public health concern.

The country has been facing a daunting challenge in sustaining the efforts to eliminate the disease.

With an estimated 1.8 million Nigerians living with HIV, including 1.63 million on antiretroviral therapy, the country requires a substantial $8 billion annually to meet the 2023 global target.

Ogah spoke at this year’s edition of Nigeria HIV Prevention Conference yesterday in Abuja.

The lawmaker noted that Nigeria’s goal to eliminate Mother-To-Child Transmission (MTCT) of HIV by last year remained elusive with national coverage at less than 50 per cent, resulting in approximately 22,000 cases of MTCT of HIV annually.

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The conference, with the theme: Accelerating HIV prevention to end AIDS through innovations and community engagement, was organised by the National Agency for the Control (NACA).

Ogah said: “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.

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