Nigeria gets Global Fund’s $890m grant to tackle HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said on Tuesday Nigeria has received $890 million grant from Global Fund to reduce the burden of HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria over a period of three years, beginning from 2021.

Ehanire, who disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja, said the fund was the largest made available to any country through the mechanism.

According to him, the fund was released to Nigeria through the Country Coordination Mechanism (CCM).

The Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GF) is an innovative international financing mechanism established by the United Nations in 2002, with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

It is a global partnership of governments, civil society, and private donors.

The minister stressed that the CCM is the official national establishment through which The Global Fund relates with recipient countries.

He said: “The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Health, facilitated the establishment of Nigeria’s CCCM in March 2002 as the recognised entity with the mandate to receive Global Fund grants on behalf of the country.”

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Ehanire added that Global Fund raised and invested nearly $4billion a year to support programmes in countries and communities that are most in need.

He added that Nigeria ranked among the largest recipients of Global Fund investments in the world.

“Since inception in 2002, The Global Fund has committed the sum of $2,585,537,824 to operations in Nigeria, which are split into four programme areas: (a) HIV/AIDS, (b) Tuberculosis, (c) Malaria, (d) Resilient Systems Strengthening for Health, (RSSH).

“Of that amount, Nigeria has, as of date, accessed $2,436,371,946, representing 94 percent of the committed amount.

“Key achievements of the Global Fund investments in Nigeria are as follows:

“For the HIV/AIDS component, the Fund investment has contributed to placing 1.04 million people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) on treatment in Nigeria. With the support of the Fund, Nigeria has provided life-saving ARVs for 194,900 PLHIV on ART.

“In addition, the fund supported the 2018 NAIIS survey which provided precise data on the epidemic in Nigeria, confirming HIV prevalence of 1.3 percent,’’ the minister concluded.

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