Nigeria’s HIV success story must be sustained — Ex-minister Adewole

Immediate Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole before the Senate on Tuesday. Twitter image

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 resi