The United States government has granted an “emergency humanitarian waiver” to ensure continued US-funded HIV treatment in 55 countries, including Nigeria.
The waiver comes after President Donald Trump recently paused funding for HIV treatment in developing nations as part of an executive order on foreign aid.
The move led to the suspension of funds disbursed under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
PEPFAR currently provides HIV treatment for over 20 million people worldwide, including 566,000 children under 15 years old and a significant number of people living with HIV in Nigeria.
However, in a statement on Wednesday, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) confirmed that the US government had approved a waiver allowing life-saving HIV treatment to continue.
The statement 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 recognises PEPFAR’s critical role in the AIDS response and restores hope to people living with HIV.”
Toyin Aderibigbe, spokesperson for the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), acknowledged the US decision while stressing Nigeria’s need to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation for long-term sustainability.
“The Nigerian government would intensify domestic resource mobilisation strategies towards ownership and sustainability of the HIV response in the country, with a view to reducing the risks of donor aid policy shifts,” Aderibigbe said in a statement on Thursday.
“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.”
Aderibigbe also emphasised the crucial role PEPFAR has played in Nigeria’s HIV/AIDS response, particularly in sustaining treatment efforts.
“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,” she added.
“PEPFAR Nigeria remains the biggest donor for treatment programmes in the country, as their contributions cover approximately 90 percent of the treatment burden.”
