Global Fund invests $4.8b in HIV, TB, malaria response in 11 years

The World Bank, United Nations (UN) and Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) have earmarked $4 billion (N5.6 trillion) to improve healthcare delivery services in the country.
 
Also, the Global Fund has invested $4.8 billion in the fight against Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Tuberculosis (TB) and malaria in the country since 2003, out of which over $2 billion (42 per cent) was invested in malaria response. 
 
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the health funding interventions are to strengthen the health system of the 36 states of the federation and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
 
UNICEF’s Health Manager, Dr Clement Adams, disclosed this at the weekend, at the Northeast states Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) road show in Maiduguri, Borno State.
 
SWAp, he noted, is to ensure remarkable improvements in the health outcomes by supporting the states and the Federal Ministry of Health (MoH).
 
Besides the health funding interventions, he added that the global agency would be providing technical and financial assistance throughout the process. 
 
Speaking on the One Plan discussions, the Head of Office and Planning, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Angus Ikpe, said that there were 13 SWAp priority initiatives in the health sector, including 18 objectives with four pillars to improve healthcare l in each of the six geo-political zones.
 
On the state of Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs), Ikpe said: “President Bola Tinubu has mandated the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to increase the number of health centres to 17,618 in the country.”

EXECUTIVE Secretary of the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), Global Fund, Tajudeen Olaitan, at the Media-Focused meeting organised by the Society in Malaria Control, Immunisation and Nutrition (ACOMIN), yesterday, in Abuja, observed that under the implementation period, over $396 million set aside specifically for malaria and was expected to be used to support certain interventions like vector control, insecticide-treated nets, the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) among others. He stressed the need to involve communities in implementing the programmes to ensure transparency and accountability.
 
National Coordinator, ACOMIN, Ayo Ipinmoye, said in the wake of mounting evidence suggesting a strong correlation between malaria incidence and changes in temperature, rainfall and humidity, WHO and World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) listed malaria among the most climate-sensitive diseases.
 

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