NACA seeks health insurance expansion to accommodate HIV comprehensive care

The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), has called for the expansion of health insurance schemes to include comprehensive HIV care for everyone living with HIV in Nigeria.

The Director General of NACA, Dr Temitope Ilori, made the call on Monday at the 2024 AIDS commemoration pre-event press briefing in Abuja.

Ilori while speaking further, tasked the stakeholders to intensify efforts to scale up prevention of mother-to-child transmission services nationwide.

“Promote universal access to free antenatal care, abolish user fees for PMTCT services nationwide, and reach pregnant women where they are in the community.”

The DG also called on all Nigerians to join hands with NACA to break the stigma, embrace equity, drive collective action and stop HIV among children.

“We must empower every individual, especially women who are most vulnerable to contracting HIV and other vulnerable populations, to access life- saving services and live with dignity.”

“Together, let us recommit to the vision of an AIDS-free Nigeria by 2030. Ending AIDS is not just a target it is a testament to our resolve, compassion, and unity as a nation,” she said.

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Similarly, the PEPFAR Nigeria’s Country Coordinator, Funmi Adesanya, noted that this year’s theme, “Take the Right Path: Sustain HIV Response, Stop HIV Among Children to End AIDS in Nigeria by 2030, is both a call to action and a roadmap for achieving the future envisioned Nigeria free of AIDS, where no child is torn with HIV, and no family is left behind

“Our collective journey in the HIV response has been remarkable. Nigeria has reduced new infections and AIDS-related deaths significantly, and the road ahead in clear sustainability should strive our intervention.

“We must think about sustaining the gains that we’ve made over the last 21 years in maintaining people on treatment and making sure that the rates of newly,” she added.

Also speaking, the Project Director of the Institute of Human Virology of Nigeria(IHVN) Global Fund N-THRIP, Dr Olayemi Olupitan, also said this year’s theme, “Take the Rights Path: Sustain the HIV Response and Stop HIV among Children to End AIDS in Nigeria by 2030” resonates deeply with IHVN’s mission of promoting health equity and ensuring access to life-saving prevention, care, and treatment services for HIV and associated diseases.

Olupitan who represented IHVN CEO, Dr Patrick Dakum, disclosed that with over two decades of impactful interventions, IHVN is proud to contribute to national efforts to control HIV/AIDS and TB as a Principal Recipient of the Global Fund and a PEPFAR implementer.

He said, “Through our programs, including the Nigeria TB-HIV Reach Integration and Impact Project (N-THRIP), we work closely with partners such as NASCP, NTBLCP, and NACA to integrate HIV and TB services, expand community outreach, and address the social determinants of health that perpetuate inequalities.”

“Our work has consistently focused on delivering patient-centred solutions, strengthening health systems, and reducing stigma and discrimination in communities.”

“World AIDS Day serves as a reminder of our collective responsibility to ensure no one is left behind in the fight against HIV/AIDS,” he said

 

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE