Donor funding cuts: AHF addresses Kogi Assembly, pushes improved budget for HIV, TB response

By Johnson Arua

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Nigeria has intensified calls for increased domestic funding for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) programmes, warning that recent cuts in international donor support pose a serious threat to ongoing treatment and prevention efforts.

Speaking during an advocacy visit to the Kogi State House of Assembly in Lokoja on Tuesday, AHF Nigeria’s Senior Advocacy and Marketing Manager, Mr. Steve Aborisade, urged lawmakers to prioritise health sector financing, particularly for HIV and TB interventions.

Aborisade said Nigeria has recorded notable successes in HIV/AIDS treatment over the years, but cautioned that sustaining these gains now depends largely on the ability of governments to mobilise local resources.

He stressed the importance of stronger partnerships among government, implementing partners, and civil society organisations (CSOs) to close funding gaps created by the withdrawal of some foreign donors.

“With declining external support, it has become necessary for governments at all levels to take ownership of HIV and TB responses. Increased budgetary allocation is critical to sustaining treatment programmes and preventing setbacks,” he said.

He further noted that while there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, available treatments are effective in managing the disease, making consistent funding essential to keeping patients on care and reducing new infections.

Aborisade explained that AHF’s visit was aimed at securing legislative backing to ensure improved funding for public health programmes in Kogi State.

He also called on African governments to rise to the challenge of financing their health systems independently.

Highlighting AHF’s global footprint, he said the organisation operates in 50 countries, including 14 in Africa, and supports HIV/AIDS services in seven Nigerian states.

Responding, the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Aliyu Umar Yusuf, lauded AHF and its partners for their advocacy and commitment to public health.

Represented by the Chairman, House Committee on Health, Hon. Usman Ochidi, the Speaker assured that the Assembly would support efforts to improve funding for the health sector. He encouraged stakeholders to actively engage lawmakers during budget defence sessions to ensure progressive increases in allocations.

He also pledged that the legislature would use its oversight and lawmaking powers to strengthen healthcare delivery, while urging federal lawmakers to ensure timely approval and release of health sector funds.

Marking World Tuberculosis Day, the lawmaker called for intensified awareness campaigns to educate citizens on the dangers of TB and ongoing efforts to combat the disease.

Other stakeholders, including representatives of KONGONET, INGRA, the Institute of Human Virology, and the Kogi State TB, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme, echoed the call for increased government intervention to cushion the impact of dwindling donor funding.

The event featured the presentation of an award to the Speaker in recognition of his continued support for initiatives aimed at tackling HIV/AIDS, TB, and other public health challenges in the state.