Nigeria Advances National HIV, NCDs Strategy Amid Global Aid Shifts

Nigeria is intensifying efforts to address its evolving health challenges, including HIV/AIDS and the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and heart disease. The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) emphasizes the need for a unified, sustainable strategy amid shifting global aid policies, with stakeholders collaborating through the National Council on AIDS to ensure continued access to prevention, care, and treatment. State governments, represented by the Nigeria Health Commissioners' Forum, have committed to closing funding gaps, particularly by covering health worker salaries to sustain care despite reductions in international funding. Concurrently, Nigeria is advocating for broader African action on NCDs, highlighting the urgency of implementing the WHO-endorsed PEN-Plus strategy to decentralize specialized care for severe NCDs like Type 1 diabetes and sickle cell disease, especially among younger populations. Efforts also include promoting planetary health diets to combat non-communicable diseases through sustainable food systems and healthier eating habits. These initiatives reflect Nigeria’s holistic approach to strengthening health systems, fostering multi-sectoral collaboration, and addressing both communicable and non-communicable diseases as crucial to the country’s socio-economic development and health security.