Afrigather 
The Nation
February 25, 2024
Nigeria has kickstarted the method of sustaining the possession of and management of the HIV and AIDS nationwide response when international funding involves an finish, the Director Normal (DG) of the Nationwide Company for the Management of AIDS (NACA), Gambo Gumel Aliyu has stated.
Aliyu stated the transfer turns into crucial as Nigeria goals to keep away from being unprepared because the deadline to finish the AIDS epidemic by 2030 approaches and the funding from growth companions diminishes.
Aliyu urged stakeholders within the HIV and AIDS nationwide response to arrange themselves and work in direction of the profitable implementation of the nation’s sustainability agenda as Nigeria approaches the 2030 goal for epidemic management.
Aliyu lately addressed stakeholders in Abuja throughout a gathering by NACA, which concerned growth companions and different events engaged within the battle towards the AIDS epidemic.
The agenda of the assembly centered on ‘An efficient and environment friendly HIV response owned, pushed, resourced, and led by the folks and the federal government of Nigeria at completely different ranges, with assist from her companions according to the Paris Declaration 2005’.
After over two years of conferences, the stakeholders initiated the sustainability course of to make sure Nigeria easily transitions to take possession and management of the HIV and AIDS nationwide response by 2030 in addition to the implementation of the sustainability agenda and the New Enterprise Mannequin.
In keeping with the DG, the assembly initiates essential discussions on how the HIV program might be sustained and built-in into common well being providers because the illness transitions from being an epidemic to an endemic situation like others.
Urging the stakeholders to assist speed up the method to satisfy Nigeria’s timelines to finish AIDS as a public well being concern, Aloyu stated, “There may be an pressing have to establish sustainable buildings that assist well being providers throughout the Federal and State establishments for providers integration as key to sustaining HIV response within the nation”.
To underscore the significance of the engagement, Aliyu disclosed that previous the assembly, NACA has made engagements on the political degree, which concerned the Federal Ministry of Well being and its States’ counterpart, represented by the designated officers.
Additional conferences can be extra participating as they are going to have a look at the very best buildings and techniques to combine HIV remedy providers into standard well being providers, he added.
Aliyu counseled the International Fund to Combat AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GF), the USA President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Aid (PEPFAR) and different stakeholders for his or her distinctive performances going by the collective success Nigeria has recorded in HIV nationwide response to this point.
On her half, Yewande Olaifa, a Deputy Director on the company, who described as apt, the agenda of the assembly, highlighted the processes and timeline within the agenda in her presentation titled ‘Sustainability of the Nationwide HIV Response’.
She clarified that the great sustainability course of is split into two primary phases to facilitate the achievement of the set targets, saying, “The primary section consists of the empowerment and transition of duties to Federal and not less than 12, non-public and neighborhood buildings.
“Furthermore, there can be a restructuring of assist providers from direct service supply to technical help to Federal and state-level buildings by implementing Companions and others. This can be adopted by the second section the place not less than 25 states can be engaged.
“The final section of the agenda will purely contain steady analysis and assist with required technical help to federal and state buildings”.
Addressing the issues raised by members concerning useful resource administration, accountability processes, and the longer term implications of the agenda in relation to illnesses like Tuberculosis and malaria, the DG assured that the agenda has taken into consideration all such issues.
In keeping with him, the stakeholders would agree on sure modalities earlier than the mission takes off lastly, “In addition to there may be particular room for coaching those that can be concerned in implementing the mission when it comes to ‘fiscal administration and accountability.
“This may allow them to know particular areas they are going to render accounts to the Nationwide Coordination”, he assured.
