Nigeria joins global partnership to eliminate HIV, AIDS discrimination  

Nigeria has joined the Global Partnership for Action to eliminate all forms of HIV-related stigma and discrimination, as an estimated 1.9 million persons are with the ailment, aimed at promoting the dignity and rights of persons living with, affected by, or at risk of AIDS.

The Country Director, UNAIDS, Dr. Leopold Zekeng, and Dr. Temitope Ilori of NACA, in a joint press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, said there is evidence that barriers to ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030 have been significantly reduced in the country.

They regretted that people living with HIV and communities most at risk still face stigma and discrimination at all levels, such as in homes, workplaces, within health services, educational establishments, and at the policy level.

According to them, this significant step taken by Nigeria underscores its commitment to addressing and eradicating the pervasive discrimination that has continued to hinder the national and global HIV response. To date, only 18 states have domesticated the HIV/AIDS Anti-Discrimination Act.

The duo said, “This is a critical vehicle to mobilize all countries to achieve the interconnected targets of the Global AIDS Strategy 2021-2026, the 2021 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS, and the Sustainable Development Goals.”

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Explaining further, UNAIDS stated that the Global Partnership is aimed at eliminating stigmatizing and discriminatory practices, policies, and laws across six settings: healthcare, workplace, education, justice system, community, and emergency situations.

The Zero Discrimination Day Celebration offers Nigeria an opportunity to strengthen its commitment by ensuring the domestication and effective implementation of the HIV/AIDS Act in all sectors. Action is urgently needed to advance the protection of human rights for everyone.

Also speaking, Chairman of the House Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Leprosy, and Malaria Control, Amobi Godwin Ogah, said that since 2015, when the Act was put in place, the law has prohibited any employer, individual, or organisation from requiring an HIV test as a precondition for employment or access to services.

The lawmaker observed that 10 years down the line, there still exists a lack of will both by the government and the private sector to fully implement it, while persons living with HIV/AIDS are not given the requisite assistance needed to seek redress when they suffer abuse.