Reduce military spending to cater to 3.1m Nigerians living with HIV, int’l NGOs tell FG

Two international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), have called on the federal government to reduce military spendings to cater to 3.1 million Nigerians living with HIV/AIDS.

The NGOs — Advocates for HIV Prevention in Africa, and Accountability International — said the amount of money spent on the purchase of Tucano fighter jets is enough to take care of anti-retroviral treatment (ART) for 1.5 million Nigerians for a year.

“In 2018, Nigeria purchased weapons and fighter jets worth 593 million US dollars from the USA,” the NGOs said via statement shared with TheCable, in commemoration of the December 1st, World AIDS day.

“The biggest and most controversial purchase was one of 12 A-29 Super Tucano Fighter Jets, which are meant for use in the fight against Boko Haram and the regional part of the Islamic State group.

“The Obama administration never approved this deal due to concerns about human rights abuses being committed by the Nigerian military (including the bombing of civilians).

“At the same time as Nigeria is spending these large amounts on its military, weapons and fighter jets, the country continues to struggle with the HIV and AIDS epidemic and will have difficulties to meet the targets of the National HIV/AIDS Strategic Framework for 2017-2021 or to achieve the global 90-90-90 goal (Nigeria’s Race to the 2020 Goal of 90-90-90; An ambitious target to end AIDS, 2017).

“Shockingly, the money spent on the military, weapons and fighter jets in the single purchase described above, could have provided 1,5 mil. PLHIV with ART for an entire year.”

The NGOs say Nigeria has what it takes to take care of persons with HIV/AIDS, but funding for treatment is still largely donor funded.

In the statement signed by Brian Kanyemba, Miriam Sünder, and Phillipa Tucker, the NGOs said Nigeria is employing “user fees” to hinder many poor Nigerians from getting adequate treatment. 

“Unfortunately, prioritizing weapons of war against HIV have affected the local community of people living with HIV. People are failing to stay on treatment because these user-fees pose a serious and profound barrier for them,” they added.

“The high burden of HIV infection demands that the Nigerian Government acts immediately to ensure that the user fees are ended, as they are in defiance of the basic human rights of its citizens.  

“The authors of several studies, civil societies and donor partners have urged the Nigerian government to design a co-payment plan, subsidize the treatment costs or lower the price in other ways, in order to increase ART coverage (Mbachu, Okoli, Onwujekwe, & Enabulele, 2018), but our analysis shows that a little less military spending and a little more accountability would go a long way to providing all PLHIV in Nigeria with the healthcare they are entitled to.

“However, without considerable federal government support and accountability, the words of the Vice President are just another statement, without any connection or acknowledgement of the needs of the people at community level.

“This makes World AIDS Day 2018 just another commemoration without meaning and without inclusion of those who live with HIV every day.”

Nigeria reported 150 000 AIDS-related deaths in the same 2017, with only 34 percent of the 3.1 million who are HIV positive are on anti-retroviral treatment (ARVs).

The number of children living with HIV in Nigeria stood at 220,000 in 2017, with only 26% receiving antiretroviral treatment.