Health
HIV Prevention: Group Wants FG To Include PrEP In NHIS
The New HIV Vaccine and Microbicides Advocacy Society (NHVMAS) yesterday urged the Federal Government to include oral Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a HIV prevention drug, in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Mrs Florita Durueke, Executive Director, NHVMAS, made the call during a weekly online training for journalists on HIV prevention research.
Durueke said that including PrEP in the services of NHIS would reduce the cost and promote easy access to the drug to prevent HIV infection.
She described oral PrEP as a pill taken by an uninfected or HIV negative patient daily to prevent infection.
According to her, the drug offers protection or reduces the risk of HIV infection by 96 per cent when used consistently and correctly.
According to her, PrEP works for high risk persons such as people with multiple sexual partners, female sex workers, men who have sex with men, partners of infected patients and sexually active adolescents.
“Nigeria is still struggling with PrEP access for those at substantial risk of HIV infections.
“The main challenge with PrEP is that it is expensive; one month supply of PrEP costs about N500,000 or more.
“African countries such South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Tanzania have thousands of persons taking PrEP because they have PrEP Access Programmes in place.
“However, in Nigeria where about 1.9 million people are living with HIV, only an estimated 400 to 600 people at high risk of infection are currently taking PrEP, “ she said.
Durueke said that the situation placed Nigeria at the bottom of African countries that recommended PrEP in national guidelines.
“It is contributing to the burden of HIV in the country,” she said.
Durueke urged the Federal Government to consider public financing or partnership with local and foreign donors for PrEP access.
She urged that the cost should be subsidised for those at a very high risk of HIV infection.
“If we can also push it into NHIS, the cost burden will not be much on patients.
“This will increase community demand for PrEP from people at risk of infection,” she said.
Also speaking, Mr Oluwatosin Alaka, Programme Coordinator at NHVMAS, said the national roadmap on PrEP access in Nigeria was still at the draft stage as at May 2019.
“Nigeria needs to move fast to get PrEP access and roll it out to target population, so that we are not left out in the fight against HIV prevention response,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) first recommended offering PrEP to only men who have sex with men.
However, based on further evidence of the effectiveness and acceptability of PrEP, in September 2015, WHO recommended that people at substantial risk of HIV infection should be offered PrEP as an additional prevention choice, as part of comprehensive prevention.
The Federal Government has begun a scheme to battle malnutrition in children.
Tagged, “Nutrition 774 Initiative”, the programme was unveiled by Vice President Kashim Shettima as it falls within a framework for the Federal Government’s comprehensive vision for a nationwide nutrition programme to address malnutrition and food insecurity in Nigeria.
The proposed programme, “Nutrition 774 Initiative,” aims to improve nutritional outcomes across all 774 local government areas (LGAs) in the country.
Speaking yesterday during a roundtable with development partners at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, VP Shettima said the initiative aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s broader focus on food security and availability across Nigeria.”The priority with which His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has pursued food availability has gone hand-in-hand with our commitment to eradicating malnutrition.
“Our aspiration as a nation goes beyond the mere abundance of food in our barns and warehouses. We cannot claim victory unless there is certainty that each household across Nigeria has access to the preferred and prescribed diets essential for a healthy life,” the vice president stated.
It would be recalled that the 144th meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) had in September endorsed the Nutrition 774 programme as a primary platform for combating malnutrition within Nigerian communities.
The council encouraged development partners to provide financial and technical assistance to support this initiative.
The importance of e-Health devices and digital health solutions in improving Nigeria’s healthcare system has been emphasised by Senator Ipalibo Harry Banigo, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Secondary and Tertiary.
She also stressed that health is a multilayered activity and a multisectoral collaboration that requires legislators to work together to provide legislation, implement policies, and track funds effectively.
Banigo, who represents Rivers West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, made these remarks at the 5th Annual Legislative Summit on Health in Abuja, themed “Improving Legislative Stewardship and Accountability for Universal Health Coverage.”
She highlighted the potential of eHealth devices, especially given Nigeria’s large population and limited healthcare professionals.
“We can develop platforms that can be accessed through simple phones, even in remote villages, to provide health education and interventions,” she said.
“We are not talking about highfalutin things; we are talking about what will impact communities at the grassroots level, particularly pro-poor initiatives that will benefit vulnerable populations.”
Banigo also emphasized the importance of accountability and effective care, encouraging legislators to share knowledge, engage in peer reviews, and exchange information to achieve better health outcomes.
She recalled the cholera outbreak, where basic health education and interventions could have been delivered via mobile phones, preventing preventable deaths.
The 5th Annual Legislative Summit on Health brought together federal and state legislators, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, the World Health Organisation’s representative in Nigeria, Dr. Walter Mulombo, and other dignitaries.