Amidst dwindling donor funds in the health sector, stakeholders have called on Nigerian youths to become more actively involved in budget processes and health policy discussions to ensure sustainable financing of healthcare services, particularly the HIV response.

They made the call at a multi-stakeholder meeting organised by Inspire IT on strengthening domestic resource mobilization for sustainable HIV financing in Nigeria, where they stressed the need for young Nigerians to understand the budget cycle and take ownership of issues affecting them.

The Assistant Chief Programme Officer with the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr. Promise Phillips, said youths must first understand the budget process to effectively participate in decision-making.

Phillips, who represented his organisation at the event, said: “We want to start from ensuring that the youths understand the budget cycle first, so that they can know how they can come in.”

He pointed out that Nigeria’s HIV response remained largely donor-dependent, hence the need for government, the private sector and civil society organisations to work together to ensure sustainability, saying the country must begin to take ownership of HIV programmes and develop strategies to reduce dependence on donor funding.

Also speaking, Mbo Martin, a consultant with Technology for Inspiration Initiative (Inspire IT), said youths must take the lead in engaging policymakers and other stakeholders on healthcare issues.

Martin said the burden of HIV was significant among young people, making their participation in health financing, insurance and policy decisions imperative.

He expressed concern over the possibility of a funding gap if international donors withdraw their support, noting that donors currently provide substantial funding for antiretroviral therapy, drugs and logistics.

According to him, the introduction of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), including injectable and tablet forms, further underscores the need for sustainable domestic financing, adding that the injectable PrEP was recently introduced in Nigeria with support from implementing partners, but warned that the country could not continue to depend on such support indefinitely.

Martin said donors had indicated that their support could end by 2030, urging youths to act before then.

He said: “We are really saying that the youth should actually know these are the things that we need to do. Are there pockets of funds that are left somewhere that we need to actually start advocating for and actually making a way for ourselves?”

He urged young Nigerians to explore available opportunities to participate in health insurance and financing schemes instead of relying solely on donor agencies.

Also speaking, the Head of the Non-Communicable Disease Unit, Department of Community Health Services, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Suleiman Lamudre, said youths remained central to the agency’s efforts to strengthen primary healthcare delivery, saying healthy youths would be better positioned to contribute to education, employment and economic development.

On youth participation in budget processes, Lamudre urged young Nigerians to use their voices to advocate increased funding for healthcare and other youth-focused interventions.

He said every Nigerian had the right to approach the National Assembly and other relevant stakeholders to make representations on issues not captured in the budget.

Lamudre also said the agency was willing to work with youths in advocacy and social mobilisation, adding that young people could help communicate government health programmes to communities.

The Chief Executive Officer of Technology for Inspiration Initiative, Adana Ononiwu, said the gathering was organised to encourage more youths to participate in discussions around health policy, budgeting and sustainable domestic financing for HIV.

Ononiwu said the country could not continue to depend on external donors for HIV treatment and other health interventions.

She called for increased advocacy and collaboration among government, young people and other stakeholders to develop sustainable funding mechanisms. She urged youths to be proactive and participate in health budgeting discussions in their communities.

“Do not say it’s none of my business. It is everybody’s business. Every stakeholder, big or small, has a role to play,” she said.