World AIDS Day: US Invests $8bn To Fight HIV/AIDS In Nigeria

In commemoration of World AIDS Day, the United States Mission in Nigeria has revealed that over the past two decades, PEPFAR, the leading U.S. initiative to address HIV/AIDS, has invested nearly $8 billion to combat the menace in Nigeria.

In a statement published on the US Embassy’s website, the Chargé d’Affaires for the Embassy in Nigeria, David Greene, added that PEPFAR provided more than 1.6 million individuals with life-saving HIV treatment.

The interventions included millions of vaccine doses to combat COVID-19 pandemic in the country, helping the Nigerian government approach its target vaccination rate of 70 per cent of the eligible population.

“The United States is also a steadfast partner in strengthening Nigeria’s health sector. With World AIDS Day – December 1 – approaching, it is worth recalling that over the past two decades, PEPFAR, the leading U.S. initiative to address HIV/AIDS, has invested nearly $8 billion in Nigeria, providing more than 1.6 million individuals with life-saving HIV treatment. In response to COVID-19, the United States donated more than 44 million vaccine doses, helping the Nigerian government approach its target vaccination rate of 70 percent of the eligible population. Partnerships like the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative, with an annual budget of more than $71 million, have reduced child death rates and strengthened health systems.

“Those investments are just part of our overall development assistance to Nigeria. In fiscal year 2022 alone, the U.S. government allocated over $1.2 billion dollars in such support. These funds provide humanitarian assistance, and improve health, economic development, education, social services, democracy, human rights and governance, and peace and security,” the statement read in part.

LEADERSHIP reports that World AIDS Day is commemorated on December 1 every year. It is an opportunity for people around the world to unite and show support for people living with and affected by HIV and to remember those who lost their lives to AIDS.