Health
Nigeria unveils new HIV plan, seeks shift from donor dependence to domestic financing
Nigeria has unveiled a new National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan (NSP) 2026–2030, outlining a transition from donor-supported interventions to a domestically financed and government-led response to HIV/AIDS.
The plan, presented on Thursday in Abuja, comes amid declining external funding and growing calls for Nigeria to assume greater ownership of its health system, particularly in sustaining long-term HIV interventions.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, the Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Temitope Ilori, said Nigeria’s HIV response had reached a critical point that requires a strategic reset in line with emerging realities.
Ms Ilori said the country had recorded significant progress over the past two decades, including reductions in new infections and improved treatment access, but noted that changing global and financial conditions demanded a new approach.
She explained that the new strategic plan represents a recalibration rather than a replacement of the existing framework and aligns Nigeria’s response with emerging evidence and global priorities.
“This new Strategic Plan reflects lessons learned from implementation, new evidence from the National HIV Estimates and the need to reposition the response in a rapidly changing global environment,” she said.
Shift to domestic ownership
Ms Ilori said declining external funding and fragmented programme structures had made it necessary for Nigeria to adopt a government-led and government-owned response model.
According to her, the NSP prioritises the integration of HIV services into national systems across sectors, including health, education, youth development, gender and justice.
She added that the plan was developed through extensive consultations involving government institutions, civil society organisations, development partners, private sector actors and community networks.
“This Strategic Plan calls on all stakeholders to renew their commitment and work collectively to achieve a resilient, equitable, and sustainable HIV response for Nigeria,” she said.
Framework
Presenting the framework, NACA’s Deputy Director of Policy, Planning and Coordination, Mariam Ezekwe, said Nigeria’s HIV response had reached a decisive point, with notable achievements but persistent gaps that require structural reforms.
Ms Ezekwe said the country had made substantial gains in reducing infections and expanding access to treatment, but stressed that the next phase must focus on sustainability and stronger system integration.
She outlined the country’s current realities, describing a system that had made progress but still faced structural weaknesses in financing and service delivery.
“Fifty-two per cent reduction in new infections since 2010, and just about 80 per cent of People Living with HIV/AIDS know their status in 2025,” she said.
“These are the latest data from the Spectrum estimate. And currently we have an estimated 1,985,284 people living with HIV/AIDS.”
She added that the NSP prioritises legislative financing, health insurance expansion, and integration of HIV services into primary healthcare systems.
Private sector, faith groups seek deeper integration
During a panel discussion on domestic financing and sustainability, stakeholders called for stronger private sector participation, expanded insurance coverage and formal integration of faith-based organisations into the national response.
Representing the Nigeria Business Coalition Against AIDS (NIBUCCA), Opeyemi Yekini said private sector actors should be treated as co-owners of the HIV response rather than mere contributors.
Mr Yekini noted that businesses increasingly recognise that workforce health directly affects productivity and economic stability.
Also speaking, Executive Secretary of the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), Tajudeen Ibrahim, said Nigeria’s transition strategy extends beyond enrolling people living with HIV into health insurance schemes and includes strengthening systems capable of sustaining HIV financing after donor support declines.
Mr Ibrahim said governments at different levels were already committing resources to HIV programmes, but weak tracking and reporting mechanisms made it difficult to determine the full extent and impact of domestic investments.
He said strengthening financial accountability and visibility would be essential to demonstrating country ownership and ensuring resources are used efficiently.
“There are several mechanisms that we are currently using to fund health, and these mechanisms need to be properly tracked. As part of Global Fund support to the country, we are investing in strengthening our public financial management system,” he said.
Emmanuel Okechukwu, co-chair of the Nigeria Interfaith Coalition on AIDS (NIFCOB-AIDS), also called for the formal integration of faith-based organisations into the national HIV response framework.
He said faith institutions had long played a central role in providing care and social support, particularly at the community level.
“The faith-based community is asking for integration, both in policy and programming. If you want to attain universal health coverage, you must go to the people who are in the grassroots to provide the healthcare communities require,” he said.
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System integration by 2030
The NSP 2026–2030 outlines a long-term goal of eliminating parallel HIV programmes and embedding interventions within routine government systems.
NACA said implementation of the plan would increasingly rely on domestic financing, strengthened health insurance systems, digital health expansion and coordinated multisectoral accountability mechanisms.
By 2030, Nigeria aims to sustain HIV control through integrated systems fully owned and financed at national and subnational levels.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has called on Nigerians to strengthen support for breastfeeding by creating enabling environments for mothers at home, in communities, healthcare facilities and workplaces.
The ministry made the call in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by its Assistant Director of Information and Public Relations, Ado Bako, ahead of the 2026 World Breastfeeding Week.
The global event, observed annually from 1 to 7 August, will be commemorated this year under the theme, “Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: Strengthen What Works.”
Mr Bako said the theme highlights the need to build on proven strategies that have improved breastfeeding practices while advancing better nutrition, food security and poverty reduction.
He described breastfeeding as the foundation of lifelong health, noting that it provides optimal nutrition for infants, strengthens immunity and supports healthy brain development.
“Breastfeeding supports healthy brain development, improves child survival and contributes significantly to human capital development and national productivity,” he said.
Mr Bako added that promoting and protecting breastfeeding also reduced healthcare costs, while advancing food security and social equity.
The ministry emphasises that every mother deserves the support needed to breastfeed successfully.
“Families, healthcare providers, employers, communities and policymakers all have critical roles in ensuring that breastfeeding mothers receive adequate care, encouragement and workplace support,” he said.
Mr Bako reiterated the ministry’s recommendations on optimal infant feeding practices, including early initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of birth and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life.
He also emphasised the introduction of appropriate complementary foods from six months, while continuing breastfeeding up to two years old or beyond.
He noted that breastmilk remained the ideal food for infants because it was safe, readily available, affordable and hygienic, while providing the first line of protection against many common childhood illnesses.
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According to him, increased breastfeeding also helps families avoid the high financial burden associated with infant formula and preventable diseases.
Mr Bako said activities lined up for the 2026 World Breastfeeding Week would be held nationwide and include a national commemoration on 3 August.
Other activities, he said, include a media conference by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, community outreach programmes among others.
He called on Nigerians to support mothers in breastfeeding according to national recommendations.
“Collective action to protect, promote and support breastfeeding is an investment in healthier children, stronger families and a more prosperous Nigeria,” Mr Bako said. (NAN)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged African governments to strengthen national hepatitis programmes and expand access to vaccination, testing, and treatment, warning that millions of people across the continent continue to miss out on life-saving services despite the availability of effective interventions.
In a statement issued ahead of World Hepatitis Day, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Mohamed Janabi, said viral hepatitis remains a major public health challenge across the region, even though new hepatitis B infections declined by 25 per cent between 2015 and 2024.
Mr Janabi noted that while effective vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments are available, many people are still diagnosed too late or cannot access care, leading to preventable deaths.
“No one should die from a disease that can be prevented, diagnosed and, in many cases, treated,” he said.
He called on governments, development partners, health workers, and communities to remove barriers preventing people from accessing hepatitis services.
“Eliminating viral hepatitis is within our reach, but only if proven interventions are available to everyone who needs them,” he said.
Bringing services closer to communities
Mr Janabi said the region already has the tools needed to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat.
According to him, the hepatitis B vaccine, introduced in the early 1990s, provides up to 95 per cent protection against infection, while reliable diagnostic tools enable early detection. He added that hepatitis C can be cured, and lifelong treatment for hepatitis B can prevent complications such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
He stressed that integrating hepatitis prevention, testing, and treatment into primary healthcare would make services more accessible and affordable, while also reducing pressure on health systems.
Mr Janabi said the challenge is no longer scientific but one of political commitment, financing, and equitable access.
He noted that countries in the WHO African Region have recorded progress by expanding the universal hepatitis B birth dose vaccine, advancing the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B, and pioneering hepatitis C elimination pathways.
However, he said these gains must be sustained and expanded across all 47 WHO African member states.
Late diagnosis
Mr Janabi warned that many people living with viral hepatitis remain unaware of their infection until serious liver damage has occurred.
He attributed the problem to inadequate access to testing and treatment, particularly in underserved communities, as well as stigma and limited public awareness.
To close these gaps, Mr Janabi urged countries to integrate hepatitis services into routine healthcare throughout a person’s life while investing in research and innovation to improve access to new diagnostic tools and treatments, including for hepatitis B and hepatitis D co-infection.
He also called on development partners to sustain technical and financial support to help countries achieve the global target of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030.
World Hepatitis Day
Observed annually on 28 July, World Hepatitis Day raises awareness about viral hepatitis and promotes actions to prevent, diagnose, and treat the disease.
This year’s theme, “Hepatitis: Let’s break it down,” calls for breaking down financial, social, and systemic barriers that prevent people from accessing hepatitis services and accelerating progress towards eliminating the disease.
According to the WHO, viral hepatitis causes inflammation of the liver and can lead to severe complications, including liver cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer if left untreated.
Nigeria’s burden
According to the WHO, Nigeria remains one of the countries most affected by viral hepatitis globally. The organisation estimates that more than 20 million Nigerians are living with hepatitis B, hepatitis C or both, yet over 80 per cent do not know their status. Data from the 2018 Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) also showed a hepatitis B prevalence of 8.1 per cent and a hepatitis C prevalence of 1.1 per cent among adults aged 15 to 64 years.
The burden extends beyond Nigeria. WHO estimates that more than 90 million people across the African Region are living with viral hepatitis, accounting for about 26 per cent of the global burden. Despite ongoing efforts to strengthen hepatitis control programmes, PREMIUM TIMES has previously reported persistent challenges, including low testing rates, limited access to treatment, and gaps in the uptake of the hepatitis B birth dose vaccine, leaving many infections undetected until serious liver complications develop.
Against the backdrop of the region’s high hepatitis burden, Mr Janabi reaffirmed WHO’s commitment to supporting African countries in strengthening health systems and expanding equitable access to hepatitis services.
“Together, we can prevent new infections, save lives and ensure that viral hepatitis is no longer a barrier to healthier lives for the people of Africa,” he said.
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