Nigeria is intensifying efforts to strengthen domestic financing for its HIV response as declining international donor support threatens decades of progress in HIV prevention, treatment and care.

The Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Temitope Ilori, made this known on Wednesday at the Nigeria side event during the 26th International AIDS Conference (IAS 2026) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Speaking on the theme, “Sustainability: Strengthening Resource Mobilisation for the National HIV Response in Nigeria,” Ms Ilori said the country must transition to a more resilient and self-reliant HIV programme capable of withstanding changing global economic realities.

Ms Ilori said Nigeria has recorded significant progress in tackling HIV over the past two decades through partnerships involving the federal government, development partners, civil society organisations, communities of people living with HIV and the private sector.

However, she warned that changing global economic realities and declining development assistance require the country to rethink how it finances its HIV programme.

“The future of the HIV response depends not only on scientific breakthroughs and effective interventions but also on our collective ability to build resilient, sustainable financing systems that can withstand evolving global economic realities,” she said.

She said sustainability extends beyond replacing donor funding with domestic resources.

According to her, it also requires stronger institutions, improved governance, greater efficiency, innovation and expanded partnerships to ensure available resources deliver maximum impact.

Funding pressures

Ms Ilori’s remarks come as global HIV financing faces increasing pressure.

A recent report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) showed that international donor funding for HIV programmes fell by 25 per cent in 2025, the largest single-year decline since global HIV financing began expanding.

The report attributed the drop largely to reductions in financial support from the United States, stemming from funding delays and the cancellation of several international health programmes.

The funding cuts have disrupted HIV services across several African countries, prompting governments to explore emergency funding measures and longer-term domestic financing options.

In Nigeria, PREMIUM TIMES has reported that reductions in donor support disrupted community-based HIV treatment and support programmes, raising concerns about continuity of care for people living with HIV.

To address the challenge, the federal government launched the National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan (NSP) 2026–2030 in June, which seeks to transition the country’s HIV response from donor dependence to greater domestic financing and national ownership.

Turning lessons into action

As part of efforts to strengthen the national response, Ms Ilori announced that NACA would convene a post-IAS stakeholders’ engagement after the conference.

She said the meeting would review key scientific advances, policy directions and best practices emerging from IAS 2026 and adapt them to Nigeria’s HIV programme.

“We are here not merely to discuss challenges but to identify actionable solutions and forge stronger partnerships that will shape the future of Nigeria’s HIV response,” she said.

Nigeria-Brazil partnership

Also speaking, Nigeria’s Charge d’Affaires to Brazil, Basil Okolo, said the renewed strategic partnership between Nigeria and Brazil presents opportunities to deepen cooperation in the health sector.

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He said recent bilateral engagements between the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to expanding collaboration through knowledge exchange, local manufacturing of health commodities, research, regulatory strengthening, and health systems innovation.

Mr Okolo said stronger partnerships among governments, development partners, academia, civil society, communities and the private sector would be critical to achieving sustainable health outcomes.

He thanked Nigeria’s partners for their continued support of the country’s HIV response and called for continued collaboration.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) have stepped up efforts to address unfair practices in marketplaces, with a renewed focus on price tagging, product labelling and businesses’ obligations to honour returns and refunds where applicable.

The initiative was unveiled on Wednesday during a stakeholders’ engagement organised by both agencies in Ikeja, Lagos, as regulators sought greater compliance with consumer protection laws through dialogue with businesses.

Speaking at the event, the Executive Vice Chairman of the FCCPC, Tunji Bello, said consumer confidence remains central to a healthy marketplace, particularly in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub, where millions of transactions take place daily across markets, supermarkets, shopping malls, neighbourhood stores and online platforms.

Mr Bello, represented by the FCCPC’s South-west Coordinator, Olubumi Otti, said those transactions not only drive economic growth and create jobs but also depend on trust between businesses and consumers.

“Consumers must be confident that the price they see is the price they will pay,” he said.

He added, “They must be able to rely on the information provided about the products they buy. They must also know that where the law gives them the right to a refund, replacement, or repair, that right will be respected.”

According to him, transparent business practices encourage consumer spending, build customer loyalty and promote fair competition.

He said the engagement focused on three recurring issues affecting consumers and businesses: price tagging, minimum product labelling requirements, and return and refund obligations.

“These may seem like ordinary aspects of doing business, but they play a vital role in building confidence in the marketplace.
They help consumers make informed decisions, encourage fair competition, and create a level playing field for businesses that choose to operate responsibly,” Mr Bello said.

Engagement before enforcement

Mr Bello said the commission’s objective was not merely to remind businesses of their legal obligations but to explain why compliance benefits both consumers and businesses.

According to him, the FCCPC believes engagement is often more effective than confrontation because businesses are more likely to comply when regulatory expectations are clearly understood.

“We expect businesses to deal with us honestly and transparently,” he said.

He noted, however, that the commission continues to receive complaints from consumers over avoidable marketplace practices.

Highlighting one of the issues, Mr Bello said displaying prices is a basic requirement of fairness.

“A consumer should know what an item costs before deciding whether to buy it. No one should have to take a product to the checkout before learning its price. Neither should two customers be quoted different prices for the same product simply because a seller believes one can afford to pay more than the other.”

Partnership

Also speaking, the General Manager of LASCOPA, Afolabi Sholebo, said the engagement reflected a shared commitment to making the marketplace fair, transparent and deserving of consumers’ trust.

He said businesses had recently faced regulatory sanctions over practices such as failing to display prices, selling expired products, inadequate product labelling and refusing legitimate requests for returns or refunds.

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Mr Sholebo said compliance with pricing regulations, labelling standards and consumer redress mechanisms is a legal obligation under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, as well as the Lagos State Consumer Protection Law.

The engagement comes amid increased consumer protection enforcement by the FCCPC.

In recent months, the commission has intensified actions against businesses over alleged exploitative pricing, misleading trade practices and violations of consumer rights. It has also repeatedly urged businesses to comply with provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act by displaying prices clearly, providing accurate product information and respecting consumers’ rights to appropriate remedies where provided by law.

The FCCPC has consistently maintained that strengthening compliance with consumer protection laws is aimed at promoting transparency, encouraging fair competition and improving confidence in Nigeria’s marketplace.