Nigeria has secured a $933 million grant from the Global Fund to bolster its efforts in combating HIV, Tuberculosis (TB), and Malaria.
The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) announced that the three-year grant, known as the Global Fund’s Grant Cycle 7 (GC7), will run from 2024 to 2026.
Of this amount, $340,095,438 is allocated specifically for the HIV grant, with NACA receiving $10,663,394 to lead the coordination of the multi-sectoral response to HIV.
Toyin Aderibigbe, Head of Public Relations and Protocol at NACA stated that a new Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) has been established to enhance service delivery, transparency, and accountability.
”This initiative is part of a strategic approach to effectively address public health challenges associated with HIV,” she said.
Dr. Temitope Ilori, Director General of NACA, emphasized the importance of the grant in achieving a domestically driven HIV response.
”This approach aims to end AIDS and its associated conditions as public health threats sustainably and efficiently,” she noted.
Speaking at a four-day retreat designed to orient new team members, Ilori highlighted the need to build on past successes and improve future efforts by utilizing reliable data for effective decision-making.
Key accomplishments of the previous grant cycle (GC6) included training healthcare personnel, equipping laboratories, and engaging communities.
Despite the successes, Ilori called for continued improvement in addressing HIV challenges.
“While we celebrate these remarkable achievements, we must task ourselves to improve upon our past efforts by being efficient and intentional in sustainably addressing the public health challenges of HIV,” she stated.
Ilori also urged the new team to focus on the shared goal of eliminating HIV by the target date of 2030.
She emphasized the need to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, strengthen the health response to be more resilient and sustainable, and ensure readiness for any public health emergency.
“My vision for the HIV response under my leadership is to foster a domestically driven HIV response that ends AIDS and its associated conditions as a public health threat in an effective, efficient, and sustainable manner,” she added.
The GC7 implementation will include several notable activities, such as scaling up HIV and TB Gender and Human Rights interventions at national and sub-national levels.
Additionally, the development of strategic plans for the 36+1 states, leveraging the HIV National Strategic Plan 2023-2027, and the implementation of medically assisted treatment for persons who inject drugs using methadone or buprenorphine, are also planned.
The successful implementation of the initiatives is expected to significantly enhance Nigeria’s capacity to address HIV, TB, and Malaria, contributing to the overall goal of ending these diseases as public health threats by 2030.
