Nigerian Govt Sets Up U.S.$150 Million Fund to Fight HIV/Aids

The government has launched a U.S.$150 million HIV Trust Fund to help fight HIV/Aids, especially targeting the prevention of mother-to-child transmissions as foreign funding for such programmes was under strain due to the focus on Covid-19.

President Muhammadu Buhari said at the launch of the fund that his administration will continue to prioritise health interventions to address diseases and public health emergencies. He noted that Nigeria's partnership with the private sector in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic had provided a financing solution to sustain the existing HIV response.

The National Agency for the Control of AIDS had in the last three years put an additional 900,000 people on treatment to bring the total to 1.7 million, its chief said. 

Despite efforts and progress made in reducing the scourge of HIV/Aids, Nigeria still accounts for huge numbers of babies born with the virus. In Nigeria, at least one child between the ages 0-9 years contracted HIV every 30 minutes in 2020, the report shows. This means that about 20,695 children in Nigeria were newly living with HIV in 2020.

The UNICEF report reveals that two in five children living with HIV worldwide do not know their status, and just over half of children with HIV are receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART).