…as Nigeria Marks World HIV Day
The National Chairman of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Pharm. Ambrose Igwekamma Ezeh, has called for local investment in HIV/AIDS commodities and services.
This is as he insisted that Nigeria must reduce its dependence on external donors to protect recent gains.
Pharmacist Ezeh in a statement issued on Monday to mark the World HIV Day with the theme “Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response,” warned that recent cuts in external funding make local commitment essential.
“The recent cut in funding support from the United States Government should awaken the Federal Government of Nigeria to take decisive action,” he said, adding that increased local investment and policy commitment are essential to preventing major setbacks in HIV services nationwide.
Ezeh described the national HIV response as historically resilient but cautioned that the current geopolitical and funding environment requires fresh thinking.
“The HIV response has historically been characterised by resilience, rising above challenges through innovation, partnerships, and persistent advocacy.
“However, today’s shifting geopolitical landscape and funding uncertainties demand that Nigeria rethinks, rebuilds, and rises with renewed strategies grounded in evidence-based policymaking, innovation, and multi-sectoral collaboration,” he said.
He highlighted worrying statistics to underscore the urgency for action: “In 2023 alone, Nigeria recorded an estimated 1,400 new HIV infections and 50,000 AIDS-related deaths each week, with 1.9 million Nigerians currently living with HIV.”
To translate concern into policy, Pharm. Ezeh set out three concrete recommendations:Adopt long-acting injectable antiretroviral regimens.
He urged the federal government to approve Cabotegravir 600 mg and Rilpivirine 900 mg for eligible people living with HIV, noting that long-acting injectables would ease pill burden and improve adherence, with dosing intervals spaced several months apart.
Deepen partnerships with community pharmacists. Ezeh stressed that community pharmacists already play critical roles in HIV testing, counselling, and ARV refills, and argued that deeper integration of community pharmacy services will enhance case identification, treatment continuity, and accurate national data reporting, especially in the face of global funding uncertainties.Promote local manufacturing of HIV commodities.
The ACPN chairman issued a direct call for government investment in local manufacturing of antiretrovirals, diagnostic kits, and consumables to ensure sustainability, reduce external dependency, and safeguard uninterrupted service delivery.
Ezeh closed the statement with solidarity for people living with HIV and a call to renewed action: “As we mark World HIV Day, the Association extends warm solidarity to all people living with HIV and appreciation to every stakeholder committed to ending this epidemic.
May today serve as a reminder of our collective responsibility and as inspiration for renewed, transformative action.”
The ACPN statement positioned community pharmacists as central to Nigeria’s HIV response at a time of shrinking external funding and framed local manufacturing of HIV commodities as a strategic priority to protect treatment continuity and strengthen health system resilience.
