At the Medical and Dental Consultant Association of Nigeria’s conference, held at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex in Ile-Ife, Osun State, NACA’s Director-General, Dr. Temitope Ilori, revealed alarming statistics: Nigeria recorded 1,400 new HIV infections weekly and 50,000 AIDS-related deaths in 2023.
Dr. Ilori presented these findings during a discussion on “Current Concept of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria: The Policy and Funding,” highlighting the need for improved strategies to combat the epidemic.
Nigeria bears the unfortunate distinction of being responsible for a quarter of the world’s mother-to-child HIV transmissions, with a staggering 22,000 new cases reported among children under the age of 14 in 2023 alone.
Dr. Ilori stated that the long-term consequences of HIV/AIDS have significantly hindered Nigeria’s progress and development, particularly impacting the socio-economic, cultural, health, and overall well-being of households and communities.
“Nigeria’s policy framework for the national multisectorial response to HIV and AIDS provides comprehensive prevention, treatment care, and support services
“Significant progress has been made, including increased domestic and international funding; however, challenges still remain in ensuring sustainable financing and universal access to HIV services.”
Continuous supports are needed from stakeholders to strengthen HIV and AIDS policies; enhance the funding mechanisms, especially from domestic sources; improve the implementation of strategic plans and the roll-out and implementation of the National HIV Sustainability Plan.”
Professor Ebunoluwa Adejuyigbe delivered a guest lecture titled “Grantsmanship and Partnership: Framework for Development,” where she emphasized the need for grantsmanship skills in the competitive research funding landscape.
She highlighted the disparity in global health research output, noting that Africa, despite accounting for 15% of the world’s population and 25% of the global disease burden, contributes only 2% of global health research output.
Furthermore, she pointed out that over 10% of sub-Saharan Africans with graduate degrees leave the region, exacerbating the brain drain.
