The United States Agency for International Development, UNAIDS has restated the agency’s commitment to improving service delivery to persons living with HIV AIDS in Nigeria.
The Executive Director of the organisation, Dr Winnie Byanyima said this would be achieved by supporting community led monitoring to empower community led organisations and networks to participate in life changing activities.
She stated this at the Engagement of People Living with HIV AIDS Community and Key Population Survey and the launch of Nigeria’s Maiden Community-Led Monitoring Report and National Community-Led and CLM, Framework, in Abuja.
She said that Community-Led Monitoring was a critical element in improving access to quality service for the benefit of the HIV community.
“This initiative will also includes addressing the structural barriers that reduce access to health services and working to improve accountability in HIV programmes. This new Community-Led Monitoring initiative in Nigeria needs to be strengthened and supported by all our partners including ourselves,” Dr Byanyima said.
She urged the People Living with HIV AIDS to take ownership of the initiative.
Accountability mechanisms
The UNAIDS Executive also said that monitoring and accountability mechanisms are needed to improve services and quality of delivery at the community level.
She said that CLM was a critical element in Community based result of HIV while urging those rendering the services to decide their priority for monitoring to ensure that everyone accesses the necessary service needed.
The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs Merrybeth Leonard said that the Community-Led Monitoring, CLM, initiative would provide vital insight from community and service beneficiaries.
She said that the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PEPFAR programme made significant progress in HIV services across Nigeria, thereby reaching one point two million patients.
She said that Nigeria seems closer to achieving the UNAIDS 95.95.95 goals target.
The Director General, National Action for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Community engagements
Dr.Aliyu Gambo, at the launch expressed confidence in the country’s capacity to end the HIV/AIDS scourge while emphasising the important role of community engagements in fighting disease.
He said that Communities matter in whatever the government was doing and they must therefore be considered.
“There is nothing for the Community without the engagement of the people at the community,” Gambo said.
The National Coordinator, Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), Ibrahim Abdulkadir who highlighted the importance of community monitoring lauded the support received from development partners and allies during the COVID-19 that made it possible for PLWHIV/AIDS to be able to access their drugs and other services despite the lockdown.
He also said that CLM was key to monitoring the fight against HIV/AIDS adding that it has helped to improve access to healthcare PLWHIV/AIDS.
The National Coordinator of the Association of Women Living with HIV in Nigeria, ASWHAN, Mrs Asumpta Reginald, called for more inclusion of women living with HIV in everything concerning them.
She appreciated UNAIDS for all the efforts towards eradicating HIV.
The report titled “Community-Led Monitoring (CLM) initiative on COVID-19 and HIV in Nigeria” shows that 212,800 People Living With HIV (PLWHIV) in Nigeria made significant out of pocket expenses to access treatment.
It also indicates that distance of treatment centers and out of pocket expenses were major barriers to HIV service accessibility.
“20.2 percent of PLHIV do not have treatment centres close to where they live,”he said.
Effects of HIV treatment
Other barriers include side effects of HIV treatment, drug breaks, lack of confidentiality at site level, user fees for processing payments, waiting for time to be attended to, stigmatisation and discrimination.
Data for the report were collected between September to December 2020 by the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN) with support from the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and the UNAIDS.
Lateefah Ibrahim
