HIV in Nigeria

The history of HIV in Nigeria

The first two cases of HIV and AIDS in Nigeria were identified in 1985 and were reported at an international AIDS conference in 1986.⁶ In 1987 the Nigerian health sector established the National AIDS Advisory Committee, which was shortly followed by the establishment of the National Expert Advisory Committee on AIDS (NEACA).

At first the Nigerian government was slow to respond to the increasing rates of HIV transmission⁷ and it was only in 1991 that the Federal Ministry of Health made their first attempt to assess Nigeria's AIDS situation. The results showed that around 1.8 percent of the population of Nigeria were infected with HIV. Subsequent surveillance reports revealed that during the 1990s HIV prevalence rose from 3.8% in 1993 to 4.5% in 1998.⁸

When Olusegun Obasanjo became the president of Nigeria in 1999, HIV prevention, treatment and care became one of the government’s primary concerns. The President’s Committee on AIDS and the National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA) were created, and in 2001, the government set up a three-year HIV/AIDS Emergency Action Plan (HEAP). In the same year, Obasanjo hosted the Organisation of African Unity’s first African Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Other Related Infectious Diseases.⁹

In 2005 a new framework was developed covering the period from 2005 to 2009.

Despite increased efforts to control the epidemic, by 2006 it was estimated that just 10 percent of HIV-infected women and men were receiving antiretroviral therapy and only 7 percent of pregnant women were receiving treatment to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.¹⁰

In 2010 NACA launched its comprehensive National Strategic Framework to cover 2010 to 2015, which requires an estimated N756 billion to implement.¹¹ Some of the main aims included in the framework are to reach 80 percent of sexually active adults and 80 percent of most at-risk populations with HIV counselling and testing by 2015; ensure 80 percent of eligible adults and 100 percent of eligible children are receiving ART by 2015; and to improve access to quality care and support services to at least 50 percent of people living with HIV by 2015.¹²

Despite being the largest oil producer in Africa and the 12th largest in the world,¹³ Nigeria is ranked 158 out of 177 on the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Poverty Index.¹⁴ This poor economic position has meant that Nigeria is faced with huge challenges in fighting its HIV and AIDS epidemic.