Abdulkadir Ibrahim, the National Coordinator of the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, stated that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention is unable to handle the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country.
Ibrahim made this statement on Tuesday in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Nigeria HIV prevention conference with the theme ‘Accelerating HIV prevention to end AIDS through innovations and community engagement,’ which was organized by the National Agency for the Control of AIDS.
In February, the Federal Executive Council approved the full implementation of the Stephen Oronsaye panel report to combine some parastatals, agencies, and some commissions, while others will be absorbed, scrapped, or relocated.
The decision was made at the FEC meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu.
According to the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, this is in line with the need to reduce the cost of governance and streamline efficiency across the governance value chain.
The report, which was first issued in 2012, aims to simplify and reduce the number of departments and agencies in the government.
One of the recommendations of the report is the merging of NACA with the NCDC in the Federal Ministry of Health.
In March, President Tinubu approved the relocation of NACA to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. NACA was previously located in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
However, Ibrahim stated on Tuesday that the NCDC cannot manage and respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country.
“We are in a situation where we need to work together and also remind our government and our partners on what to do and believe me, if we work together, we will achieve our goal.
“I’m glad that we have a new DG of NACA. When we heard the initial announcement, Leo (UNAIDS Country Director) will bear witness, we were worried that NACA will be collapsed, because there it was to be merged with the NCDC.
“I don’t know if NCDC is here, but I can tell you that they don’t have the capacity to manage the AIDS epidemic in Nigeria because we have not seen their visibility in our AIDS response. So, collapsing NACA to be part of them is going to be a setback. For us as a community, we have our reasons. However, weeks after, we heard the announcement that we have a new DG, and we are happy in our community.”
He, however, advised the NACA DG to intensify efforts on HIV prevention, resource mobilisation, and condom messaging and programming for both males and females.
“Our prevention rate is at nine per cent, and we are expected to be at 25 per cent, and that shows that we are doing poorly as a country. We need to tell ourselves the truth, we want to control the disease in our country.
For me, we have an opportunity, you will be operating with the ministry, so let the National AIDS and STDs Control Programme focus on the treatment aspect. Let’s focus on prevention. Innovations are out there, and I know that if we focus on these, the roles of NACA will be more pronounced under your activity,” he advised.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa, mentioned in his speech that Tinubu's goal is for every Nigerian to be able to get healthcare regardless of their HIV status, in order to reduce poverty and improve health.
Dr. Alausa, represented by Dr. David Atuwo, stated that the goal of the health renewal project is to create sustainable health and reduce suffering for all Nigerians.
He explained that these objectives are based on four main pillars: effective governance, an efficient and fair quality health system, unlocking the health value chain, and health security. This new approach will change how the government provides healthcare for its citizens nationwide.
He urged everyone to work together to turn this vision into a reality for the benefit of all Nigerians.
The minister praised donors for their consistent efforts and assistance in helping Nigeria reach the 95-95-95 target by 2030.
