Nigeria, seven others may face HIV drug shortages – WHO
The World Health Organisation has warned that the United States’ decision to halt foreign aid has disrupted the supply of HIV treatments in Nigeria, Haiti, Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Ukraine.
The WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, who said this during a press conference on Monday, noted that to halt foreign aid could put millions of lives at risk.
“The disruptions to HIV programnes could undo 20 years of progress,” he said.
He warned that this setback could lead to over 10 million new HIV cases and three million HIV-related deaths while stating that the efforts to tackle HIV, polio, malaria and tuberculosis have been impacted by the US foreign aid pause implemented by President Donald Trump shortly after he assumed office in January.
Days after Trump directed the halt in foreign aids, the Federal Government announced plans to strengthen its domestic HIV response.
On February 3rd, the Federal Executive Council approved $1.07bn to finance the healthcare sector reforms under the Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity programme.
FEC also approved N4.8bn for HIV treatment, according to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun.
As part of government efforts to address the funding gap, the Nigerian Senate also recently allocated an additional N300bn to the health sector in the 2025 budget.
The additional allocation, equivalent to $200 million, will target health programmes such as TB, HIV, Malaria and Polio.
Meanwhile, the WHO boss emphasised the impact on TB programmes, with 27 countries in Africa and Asia facing significant disruptions.
He said these include shortages of healthcare workers, diagnostic tools, and collapsing data systems.
He noted that nine countries have already reported problems with the procurement and supply chains for TB drugs, threatening the lives of affected individuals.
“Over the past two decades, US support for TB services has saved nearly 80 million lives, but this progress is now at risk,” he said.
He added that its coordinated Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network, with over 700 sites worldwide, also faces imminent shutdown.
Ghebreyesus noted that the US has a “responsibility to ensure that if it withdraws direct funding for countries, it’s done in an orderly and humane way that allows them to find alternative sources of funding.
