$16. 9b committed to fight against HIV, TB, Malaria in Nigeria-Global Fund

From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

Global Fund in its Result Report for 2022 posted on its twitter account on Tuesday, indicated that $1.1billion investment was made on HIV response in Nigeria, $15.4b investment was made on malaria response, while $446 million was spent on TB response in the period under review.

On HIV/AIDS, the Global Fund report indicated that 1.8 million people were put on antiretroviral therapy for HIV, 6.2 million

HIV tests were taken, 34,000 mothers living with HIV received medicine to keep them alive and prevent transmission to their babies, while 1.7 million people were reached with HIV prevention services.

On TB, the report revealed that 208,000 people were treated for TB; 7,400 HIV positive TB patients were included on antiretroviral, 18,000 people exposed to TB received preventive therapy, while there was no data on people put on treatment for extensively drug-resistant TB.

On Malaria, the report indicated that 16.3 million mosquito nets were distributed across communities, 2.4 million pregnant women received preventive treatment for malaria, while 26.1 million suspected cases were tested for malaria, and there was no data on structures covered by indoor residual spraying.

Meanwhile, the report confirmed that a child dies of malaria nearly every minute. Nevertheless, a great progress has been made in malaria control with a reduction in overall cases and deaths, but that momentum has stalled in recent years.

It stressed that COVID-19 exacerbated the challenge, while resistances to insecticides and treatments show signs of spreading, adding that Global Fund partnership response has been to innovate by investing in tools such as dual active ingredient nets and to continue what has worked such as funding the mass distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets, seasonal chemoprevention, rapid diagnostic tests and quality-assured treatment; supporting regional manufacturing; and strengthening national efforts to make testing as widely available as possible.

Global Fund added that the implementation of U.S President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and WHO’s “treat all” guidance and the UNAIDS “95-95-95” strategy have significantly increased the number of people diagnosed with HIV and started on antiretroviral therapy.

“In 2021, HIV testing services for groups in greatest need started to recover. 23.3 million people were receiving lifesaving antiretroviral therapy, up from 21.9 million in 2020. The percentage of people in need of antiretroviral therapy who received it significantly increased over the past decade, from 23 per cent in 2010 to 75 per cent in 2021.”

The Fund also noted that, “in 2021, drug-resistant TB and the effect of COVID-19 was a major challenges, stressing that the impact of COVID-19 on TB programmes was significant.

“In 2020, the number of deaths from TB rose for the first time in a decade. However, we are beginning to recover from the 2020 losses in finding and treating people with the disease, including those with drug-resistant TB, improving access to quality diagnosis, treatment and care, and scaling up prevention and supporting “catch-up” activities to find and treat those who did not access care during the pandemic and accelerate those recovery efforts.”

To fight drug-resistant TB, the Global Fund said it’s encouraging and supporting countries to transition to shorter oral regimens for drug-resistant TB, which are more effective.