Posted on: Wed 02-02-2022

President Muhammadu Buhari has launched a 62 billion naire HIV Trust Fund of Nigeria to help Nigeria end AIDS as a public health threat and place more people living with HIV on treatment annually.

Launching the HTFN in Abuja on Tuesday, the president pledged that his administration would continue to prioritise health interventions to address killer diseases and public health emergencies.

He said: 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 to 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.

Buhari 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 leverage to sustain the HIV response.

He commended the National Agency for the Control of AIDS 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 the person of notable global key players in HIV response and from the private sector at the event and the pledges made.

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