Waje: “Words aren’t enough. Action is needed.” 

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What is the International Aids conference and why are you attending?
This conference is a massive global event where scientists, health workers, people living with HIV and policy makers come together to find ways to end the epidemic.

Recently, I performed with my fellow Strong Girls at the opening ceremony which was incredible, particularly the speech by Charlize Theron, whom I had the honour to chat with backstage.

I am also here because I am the public face of the Make Naija Stronger campaign, which is a coalition of civil society health organizations and ordinary citizens, calling on the Nigerian government to provide proper healthcare for all its people.

What have been the highlights of the conference for you?
I have been so impressed by the energy and commitment of those working to end AIDS and save lives, particularly the many incredible young women activists here.

The good news is we’ve made huge progress in the fight against AIDS. I was amazed to hear that the world has more than doubled the number of people on treatment in the last 5 years. Globally, there are now 17 million people getting HIV treatment.

The bad news is that we still have a long way to go in Africa, and in Nigeria in particular. In our country 75% of people living with HIV/AIDS still don’t have access to life-saving treatment and young women and girls are particularly at risk.

I was shocked to find out that in Nigeria, young women are nearly twice as likely to become infected with HIV as men of their age.

Why are young women so badly affected by HIV?
It has a lot to do with poverty and the low status of women. We can’t avoid the fact that there is a very high rate of sexual violence such as rape against women and girls. Of course, a woman or child who is raped cannot negotiate safe sex or choose to use a condom.

Young girls are often forced into risky behaviour like transactional sex just to put food on the table or to buy basic necessities like soap or sanitary pads.

Lack of education is another major issue as most young people don’t know how to protect themselves from HIV, especially because families tend to invest more in sending boys to school than girls.

There are 1.8 million Aids orphans in Nigeria – we need to halt this epidemic before we end up with a generation of child-headed households, where older children have to provide and care for younger siblings.

Charlize Theron’s opening address was incredibly moving and there is a line from her speech which keeps playing on a loop in my head. Charlize said “we value some lives more than others. We value men more than women and the rich more than the poor.”

This is something I have realized since I started working with the Make Naija Stronger campaign. I met a man who had lost his wife because the public health system couldn’t give her the treatment she needed. It was so painful to hear Mr Udebu’s story and to know that in a country as rich as Nigeria, a family can lose a woman who would have survived in any country with adequate health care.

What solutions are you proposing?
I understand the Nigerian government has competing priorities like the fuel crisis and the economy. But we need to be clear that a nation’s health is its wealth.

Nigerian doctors and nurses and researchers excel overseas but we need them to stay here and help build the health system, which means they must be paid properly and hospitals must have adequate equipment and medication.

Because of where we come from, we have low expectations of government healthcare. We need to turn this around and make sure every single Nigerian has decent healthcare, not just the rich who can afford private clinics or even hospitals abroad.

We as Nigerians need to guide our leaders – after all government is the servant of the people, and the people need a functioning healthcare system.

Since we launched #MakeNaijaStronger I have been overwhelmed by the empathy and compassion shown by my fellow citizens. Total strangers have approached me to tell me how touched they were by the video about Mr. Udebu losing his wife. Celebrities like actor Uche Jumbo have called me to say the story really resonated with them and to ask how they can help.

We need to do more than talk – I am calling on my fans and fellow citizens to go sign the petition and let us take action NOW!

www.one.org/makenaijastronger