The US Government Approves HIV Treatment for 55 Countries Including Nigeria

The U.S. government has given special permission to continue providing aid for HIV treatment in 55 countries, including Nigeria. This decision comes after a pause in funding ordered by former President Donald Trump when he took office, which affected support for HIV treatment in developing nations.

Due to this funding freeze, the U.S. State Department temporarily stopped sending money from a program known as PEPFAR, which helps over 20 million people worldwide who are living with HIV, including around 566,000 children in Nigeria.

Recently, the United Nations program focused on HIV/AIDS announced that the U.S. government has now approved a waiver. This waiver allows those living with HIV to keep receiving the treatment they need.

In a short statement, it reads: “UNAIDS welcomes this waiver from the US government, which ensures that millions of people living with HIV can continue to receive life-saving HIV medication during the assessment of US foreign development assistance.

“This urgent decision recognizes PEPFAR’s critical role in the AIDS response, and restores hope to people living with HIV.”

In response to this news, Toyin Aderibigbe, a spokesperson for Nigeria’s National Agency for the Control of AIDS, expressed gratitude for the U.S. government’s decision. She also mentioned that Nigeria is aware of possible upcoming changes to foreign aid under the new administration.

His statement reads: “The Nigerian government would intensify domestic resource mobilization strategies towards ownership and sustainability of the HIV response in the country with a view to reducing the risks of donor aid policy shifts to the HIV response while ensuring that the country’s strategic goals and targets in the fight against HIV are achieved.

Through effective stakeholder collaboration, creating favourable policies, and enabling environment and advocacy to policymakers, Nigeria can still achieve the target of ending AIDS by 2030.

The US government, through PEPFAR, has immensely supported Nigeria’s HIV/AIDS response over the years, particularly in sustaining the treatment of people living with HIV in Nigeria.

PEPFAR Nigeria remains the biggest donor for treatment programmes in the country, as their contributions cover approximately 90 percent of the treatment burden.”