Nigeria’s HIV Success Story Must Be Sustained, Says Adewole

Former Minister of Health and Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to Canada, Prof Isaac Adewole, on Tuesday described Nigeria’s HIV response as one of the greatest public health success stories of modern times.

He said investments in treatment, prevention and community-based care transformed millions of lives and significantly reduced the burden of the disease.

The former minister, however, cautioned that the country must do more to sustain its achievement in curtailing the HIV outbreak and other diseases.

Adewole spoke at the 25th anniversary celebration and public health symposium of APIN Public Health Initiatives in Abuja, where health experts, government officials and development partners gathered to reflect on the country’s progress against HIV/AIDS and chart a path for sustaining the gains.

“The HIV response remains one of the great public health success stories of our time. Free and subsidised antiretroviral therapy, decentralised HIV care and prevention services have helped improve outcomes for millions of people,” Adewole said.

According to him, the expansion of antiretroviral therapy, prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes, behavioural interventions and community-based services has helped reduce new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths while improving the quality of life of people living with the virus.

He said the HIV response offered an important lesson on what could be achieved through sustained investments, strong partnerships and evidence-based public health interventions.

Adewole noted that similar progress had been recorded in maternal and child health, tuberculosis control, malaria prevention and immunisation programmes over the last three decades.

He cited improved immunisation coverage, better nutrition, stronger maternal healthcare services and increased access to life-saving medicines as major contributors to reductions in child and maternal mortality.

The former minister also highlighted gains in tuberculosis control through the scale-up of Directly Observed Treatment Short-course, deployment of GeneXpert diagnostic technology and integration of tuberculosis and HIV services.

He said malaria interventions, including the distribution of insecticide-treated nets, wider access to artemisinin-based combination therapies, rapid diagnostic testing and the introduction of malaria vaccines, also contributed significantly to better health outcomes.

Despite the progress, Adewole warned that emerging challenges such as antimicrobial resistance, climate change, pandemics, economic shocks and declining international donor support could threaten hard-won gains if countries fail to strengthen their health systems.

“We need to do more than ever before to ensure that these gains are sustained,” he said.

He stressed that domestic financing would become increasingly important as traditional donor countries reduce overseas development assistance.

“The issue of local funding has become critical, and countries must now use their own resources in order to address health challenges,” Adewole added.

The symposium also highlighted the contributions of APIN to Nigeria’s HIV response over the last 25 years.

Speaking on behalf of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate, the Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Dr Temitope Ilori, said APIN had grown into one of Nigeria’s leading indigenous public health organisations.

Ilori recalled that the organisation was established at a time when the country’s HIV epidemic was characterised by widespread stigma, fear and weak healthcare infrastructure.

“Twenty-five years ago, the public health landscape was quite daunting. We were facing the rising tide of the HIV epidemic, a crisis marked by stigma, despair and fragile healthcare infrastructure,” she said.

She noted that APIN’s journey reflected Nigeria’s broader progress in combating HIV/AIDS and strengthening healthcare delivery.

“Today, APIN stands tall as one of our premier indigenous non-governmental public health organisations, partnering with the Federal Government of Nigeria to improve healthcare and change lives,” Ilori said.

The NACA Director-General disclosed that APIN currently supports treatment services for nearly 20 per cent of Nigerians living with HIV and has contributed significantly to reducing HIV prevalence across the country.

“Today, we celebrate the fact that APIN manages treatment for almost 20 per cent of people living with HIV across Nigeria and is contributing immensely to the decline in HIV prevalence across the country,” she said.

According to Ilori, APIN has expanded its operations to 30 states and has played a critical role in strengthening laboratory networks, supporting strategic health information systems, conducting community surveys and building public health capacity nationwide.

“APIN has strengthened laboratory networks, supported strategic data systems, conducted major community surveys and helped build a robust public health infrastructure across Nigeria,” she added.

She said APIN’s interventions align with the Federal Government’s Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative and have helped expand access to HIV services through primary healthcare centres.

According to her, the organisation has also made important contributions to preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, training health workers and promoting data-driven decision-making in the health sector.

While celebrating the achievements recorded over the years, Ilori cautioned that major challenges remain.

“We must not become complacent even as we celebrate our successes.

“The persistent HIV burden among key populations, the threat of drug-resistant tuberculosis, the rise of non-communicable diseases and the need for more sustainable domestic health financing remain important challenges,” she said.

In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of APIN, Prosper Okonkwo, said the organisation remained committed to supporting Nigeria’s public health priorities despite changes in the global funding environment.

“As we look to the future, we do so with great enthusiasm and expectation, even as the global health funding landscape continues to shift in ways that few of us would have predicted a few years ago,” Okonkwo said.

He added that APIN would continue leveraging its human resources, technology, strong systems and strategic partnerships to improve health outcomes across the country.

“APIN has been preparing for this moment, and we remain committed to delivering impact despite changes in global health financing,” he said

Founded in 2000, APIN Public Health Initiatives began as an HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and research initiative and has since evolved into one of Nigeria’s foremost indigenous public health organisations.

Over the last 25 years, APIN has expanded beyond HIV programming to include tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, disease surveillance, laboratory strengthening and health systems development.

The organisation’s silver jubilee comes as Nigeria continues efforts to achieve global targets for ending AIDS as a public health threat. Experts at the symposium noted that while significant progress has been made in expanding access to HIV treatment and reducing new infections, sustaining those gains will require stronger domestic financing, resilient health systems and continued collaboration among government, communities, development partners and indigenous organisations.