UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé hailed Nigeria for having halted the spread and reversed the trend of its AIDS epidemic during a visit to the country from 7 to 10 February. He also urged the political leadership to increase domestic funding for the response from 22% in 2012 to 45% by 2020.
During his visit, Mr Sidibé met with the Vice-President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, and urged the government to increase its support for the Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Week, with the aim that all pregnant women are tested for HIV by the end of 2016 and all women who test HIV-positive have immediate access to antiretroviral therapy. The health week has proven to be an excellent opportunity for pregnant women to know their HIV status. During the health week in 2015, for example, Kaduna State reported testing 84 000 pregnant women for HIV in a first round and an additional 126 000 in a second round.
Mr Osinbajo told Mr Sidibé during the meeting that Nigeria was making huge budget allocations for social investment programmes, in part to increase access to health care and help end the AIDS epidemic.
Nigeria was invited to participate in the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS, scheduled for 8 to 10 June, and to play a leading role in the development and adoption of its political declaration.
Nigeria has the second largest HIV epidemic in the world, with 3.4 million people living with HIV in the country in 2014. However, with increased investment in the AIDS response from Nigeria and its partners, the situation has improved in the past decade. New HIV infections dropped from 310 000 in 2004 to 230 000 in 2014, and coverage of antiretroviral therapy increased from 13% in 2011 to 22% in 2014, providing more than 747 000 people living with HIV with access to life-saving medicine.
During his visit, Mr Sidibé also met with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Environment, development partners, the Dangote Foundation; pharmaceutical companies and civil society; as well as the UNAIDS Champion and former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo.
