Only last year, USA he brought $ 3.7 billion in humanitarian aid to Sub -Saharan Africa. At least 73 percent of this were assigned to health programs, including HIV and prevention. For people living in HIV, many benefits from this financing results from the president’s emergency plan to facilitate AIDS – or Pepfar, which buys and provides HIV medicines for needy countries. Since the launch of former US President George W. Bush, more than two decades ago, Pepfar saved millions of human lives in Africa.
Before Pepfar HIV he often meant a death sentence in Africa. Today, many living with a virus are able to lead a normal life thanks to the drugs that have been released by him. Lend a hand programs also enabled sub -Saharan countries to achieve significant progress in concluding HIV epidemic through infection registration indicators, improve tests and reduce mother’s transmission to a child.
In fact, many countries in Africa, including Nigeria, are on spitz HIV’s control and are approaching the global goals “95-95-95”-when 95 percent of people living with HIV have been diagnosed, 95 percent of the diagnosed people receive antiretroviral therapy, and 95 percent of people receiving antiretroviral treatment reaches the damping of the virus in which the patient does not have a virus in which the patient does not have detectable HIV and is effectively free from the risk of moving the virus.
Now, along with Pepfar’s life line, apparently soon, public health workers are afraid that these profits can be reversed. “We will almost have the collapse of the healthcare system if all funds are stopped after 90-day frost, because the Nigeria government itself will not be able to provide the necessary services,” says Isah.
Isah and his colleagues published test In 2021, about the readiness of people living from HIV in Nigeria to pay for treatment from their pocket. These studies have shown that although many recognize life -saving the importance of maintaining treatment, and therefore are ready to pay, the cost of drugs is a huge barrier for them.
The month of the general version of the TRUVADA, the drug used in the treatment of HIV, as well as protection against infection both against and after exposure, costs About 60 USD per month. In addition, there are costs of regular laboratory tests to check the viral load, health of the immune system as well as the kidney conditions and liver and heart conditions that can be caused by infection. In low -income countries in Africa, this is a huge challenge: at least 41 percent of the Sub -Saharan African population He lives less than USD 1.90 per day; The national minimum wage in Nigeria is USD 40 per month.
Showing readiness to connect a gap in financing, the Nigeria government he voted At the beginning of this week, for 4.8 billion Nair ($ 3.2 million) will be released to obtain 150,000 HIV sets. But although a good sign for a low time, it is not close to what is required for the national program of HIV treatment and prevention in the event of long -term withdrawal of support by Washington.
If the American freezing of financing is maintained after a 90-day break, many people living from HIV in Africa will probably not be able to consistently pay from their pockets for the needed drugs and laboratory tests. “When someone is fully medicine and a person has reached undetectable viral load, it means that a person cannot transfer the virus,” says Isah. “But if they miss treatment and medicines, the viral load may increase again, which will lead to exposure to their families and loved ones.”