Nigeria Gets $933m Grant To Fight HIV, Malaria

• Nigeria secured a $933 million Global Fund grant for 2024-2026 to combat HIV, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, with $340 million for HIV initiatives
• Dr. Temitope Ilori of NACA urged efficiency and data-driven strategies to sustainably address HIV challenges, emphasizing eliminating mother-to-child transmission

Nigeria has secured a $933 million grant from the Global Fund’s Grant Cycle 7 to combat HIV, Tuberculosis, and Malaria from 2024 to 2026. Of this amount, $340,095,438 is allocated specifically for HIV initiatives, with the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) receiving $10,663,394 to coordinate the multisectoral response to HIV.

NACA announced this in a press statement signed by its Head of Public Relations and Protocol, Toyin Aderibigbe, on Friday. The statement detailed a four-day retreat for the newly formed Project Monitoring Unit to initiate the GC7 grant. This retreat aimed to acquaint new team members with their roles, reflect on past successes, identify areas for improvement, and strategize for the future.

In her welcome remarks, Dr. Temitope Ilori, the Director General of NACA, emphasized the significant accomplishments of the GC6 grant, such as training healthcare personnel, equipping laboratories, and engaging communities meaningfully. She encouraged participants to build on these successes to tackle HIV challenges more effectively.

Dr Ilori stated, “While we celebrate these remarkable achievements, we must ask ourselves to improve upon our past efforts by being efficient and intentional in sustainably addressing the public health challenges of HIV through reliable data for effective decision-making.”

The notable activities under the GC7 grant include:

• Scaling up HIV and TB Gender and Human Rights interventions at national and sub-national levels.
• Developing strategic plans for all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, leveraging the HIV National Strategic Plan 2023-2027.
• Implementing medically assisted treatment for people who inject drugs using methadone or buprenorphine.
• Improving HIV coordination at sub-national levels through direct support to State Agencies for the Control of AIDS.
• Conducting the HIV Integrated Biological and Behavioral Surveillance Survey 2024.

Dr. Ilori expressed her vision for a domestically driven HIV response that aims to end AIDS and its associated conditions as public health threats in an effective, efficient, and sustainable manner. She called on everyone to join the journey towards this shared goal, emphasizing the importance of eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV, strengthening the health response to be more resilient and sustainable, and ensuring readiness to respond to any public health emergency, ultimately aiming to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

She concluded, “I urge you to reflect on how our work can ensure that we eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV in collaboration with the National HIV, Hepatitis, and STI Control Programme and contribute meaningfully to the sector-wide approach of the Ministry of Health.”