By Edoamaowo Udeme
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) reviewed its efforts to help Nigeria end HIV as a public health threat by 2030 and introduced its plans for an integrated health services delivery initiative during its 3rd Biannual Program Performance Review and Stakeholder Engagement Meeting October 17-19.
The three-day meeting provided national and state partners and stakeholders from the 19 US CDC-supported states a platform to discuss achievements and challenges in HIV programming in the last year and plan for state-led HIV responses, coordination, and sustainability efforts. The integrated health services platform will serve to enhance these efforts and improve the overall quality of and access to comprehensive healthcare in Nigeria.
Throughout the meeting, US CDC Country Deputy Director Suzanne Theroux commended national and state officials, implementing and development partners, and other stakeholders for their efforts to close testing and treatment gaps and help Nigeria get closer to achieving the 95-95-95 targets. This means 95 percent of people living with HIV in Nigeria know their status; 95 percent of those who are positive are on treatment; and 95 percent of people on treatment are virally suppressed. She emphasized US CDC’s commitment to using science and data to guide the design and implementation of sustainable, comprehensive, state-led health programming.
US Chargé d’Affaires David Greene underscored the platform’s potential in Nigeria, adding that building connections across diseases, responses, and routine health activities like immunization would serve to strengthen the healthcare and public health systems in Nigeria and ensure efficient use of available resources.
Representing the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Chukwuma Anyaike, the Director of Public Health, also recognized the importance and effectiveness of partnership in the HIV response. He highlighted the continued need to close identified testing and treatment gaps and emphasized the need to use data and innovative technology to improve health outcomes in Nigeria.
The meeting was part of US CDC’s commitment to regularly review and adapt programming to meet the needs of the HIV response in Nigeria. The next Biannual Program Performance Review and Stakeholder Engagement Meeting is scheduled for April 2024.
