The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (AIDS) has said that the private sector led N62.1 Billion (US$150 Million) HIV Trust Fund of Nigeria (HTFN) is set for launch.
HTFN is a sustainable financing mechanism for the mobilisation and deployment of domestic private sector resources to address the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in the country. It was recommended by NACA and driven by the Nigeria Business Coalition Against AIDS (NiBUCAA).
Available data indicates that Nigeria has the highest number of HIV new infections among children globally, as one out of every seven children born with HIV in the world is born in Nigeria.
NACA has said that in the absence of intervention, the rate of transmission of HIV from a mother living with HIV to her child during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding ranges from 15 per cent to 45per cent. Adding that with the right treatment however, this risk reduces to less than 1per cent.
Director-general of NACA, Dr. Gambo Aliyu, said the HIV Trust Fund of Nigeria will improve efforts to ensure coverage of high-IMPACT HIV interventions that will provide the requisite treatment for HIV positive mothers, while contributing to closing the funding gap for HIV in the country that currently stands at about U$108 Million per annum.
The Trust Fund’s managing director and chief executive officer, Dr. Jekwu Ozoemene, noted that by deploying private sector competencies and capital market tools, the HTFN is key to helping Nigeria achieve the UNAIDS 95-95-95 strategy of Ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030; achieving 95 per cent diagnosed among all people living with HIV (PLHIV), 95 per cent on antiretroviral therapy (ART) among diagnosed, and 95 per cent virally suppressed (VS) among treated.
He added that the Trust Fund’s investment will improve maternal health and reduce child mortality especially in the rural and peri-urban communities in Nigeria through programmes focused on awareness creation on PMTCT, HIV prevention education for women who are in their reproductive age, and the provision of testing services and antiretrovirals for HIV positive pregnant and infected babies.
The fund is currently chaired by the group managing director of Access Bank, Dr. Herbert Wigwe. Other Board of Trustee members include; the managing director of TotalEnergies Exploration and Production Nigeria, Mr. Mike Sangster, chairman, Board of Trustees of Dangote Foundation and President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and others