President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja launched a
sixty-two billion Naira (N62bn) trust fund to help Nigeria end AIDS as a public
health threat and place more people living with HIV on treatment annually.
Speaking at the launch of the HIV Trust Fund of Nigeria
(HTFN), the President pledged that his administration would continue to
prioritize health interventions to address killer diseases and public health
emergencies.
”At the last United Nations General Assembly High-Level
Meeting on HIV/AIDS, I made a call for a renewed global action to address the
HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.
”Ending AIDS as a public health threat in Nigeria will
require increased domestic funding. We have continued to make good our
commitment of placing more people living with HIV on treatment annually using
national resources.
”However, strong domestic resource mobilization with an
enduring partnership and shared responsibility is required to sustain the
response to HIV and other emerging public health emergencies,” President Buhari
said.
The President noted that Nigeria’s purposeful partnership
with the private sector in the response to COVID 19 pandemic had provided a
readily available financing solution to sustain the HIV response.
He commended the National Agency for the Control of AIDS
(NACA) and the Nigeria Business Coalition Against AIDS for their efforts in
establishing the HIV Trust Fund of Nigeria to secure a generation of babies
free of HIV.
He also expressed delight with the attendance in person of
notable global key players in HIV response and from the private sector at the
event and the pledges made.
”Going forward, I hope the HIV Trust Fund of Nigeria will
galvanize more of the private sector and other partners to surpass the target
of sixty-two billion Naira in the next five years,” he added.
In his remarks, the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, Boss Mustapha announced that since 2005 about 6.2 billion dollars
have been spent on HIV response in Nigeria.
”About 80 per cent of the funds were contributed by external
donors, mainly the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and
the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Private Sector
contributed 0.1 per cent to 2 per cent of total funds with the rest of funds
provided by the Nigerian government.”
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