Knowing one’s HIV status in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries will soon become a thing of ease thanks to the $25 million invested in Global Fund by the Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF).
CIFF recently announced the investment aimed at fighting AIDS, and dedicated to scaling HIV self-testing in the African region.
The impact of self-testing may be greatest in sub-Saharan Africa, which has the largest number of people living with HIV who do not know their status.
“CIFF is championing HIV self-testing and other methods to promote self-care as one of the most powerful ways for youth, women, and men to take control of their sexual & reproductive health,” said Miles Kemplay, Executive Director for Adolescence at CIFF. “People deserve the choice to test when they want, where they want and how they want.”
Paulyne Chemeli, a Nairobi pharmacist stated that distributing self-test kits is improving the uptake of HIV testing among individuals who require confidentiality or who do not trust healthcare workers.
“Thanks to HIV self-testing, we now have more male clients and we encourage them to take at least two self-testing kits, including one for their partner,”Chemeli said.
1.9 million people were estimated in 2018 to be living with HIV in Nigeria. The most populous nation in Africa was also estimated to have recorded 130 000 new HIV infection and 53 000 AIDS-related deaths in the same year.
According to health experts, Nigeria is one of the countries in Africa with the largest HIV epidemic with one of the highest rates of new infection in the region.
The CIFF-Global Fund partnership is designed to increase funding for country programs that have ambitious HIV self-testing goals as well as put supportive policies in place for people to easily access self-tests.
“We applaud CIFF’s investment as there is an urgent need to engage people who would not normally test in traditional settings. Self-testing is innovative and seeks to break the cycle of HIV transmission, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa,” Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund said.
in his remarks, he explained that“By accelerating access to HIV self-testing, we can get closer to controlling HIV as a public health threat.”
This is because more people will know their status so that those with the syndrome can commence treatment while those who are negative can access prevention services.
“We want to raise awareness of the investment and encourage Sub-Sahara governments to apply,” Miles Kemplay, executive director for Adolescence at CIFF said.
Kemplay said that CIFF is championing HIV self-testing and other methods to promote self-care as one of the most powerful ways for youth, women, and men to take control of their sexual and reproductive health.
According to the Fund, the first step to access the fund will be to engage policymakers and implementers in countries likely to be eligible to motivate them to apply in due course. Once the selection process is completed, the governments of the selected countries will need to develop robust strategies and operational plans to be able to access financing.
“Improving the uptake of HIV testing among individuals who require confidentiality or who do not trust healthcare workers. Thanks to HIV self-testing, we now have more male clients and we encourage them to take at least two self-testing kits, including one for their partner,” Kemplay said.
ANTHONIA OBOKOH
