The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday listed Nigeria among the eight countries likely to run out of supply of HIV treatments soon.
This is as the Trump administration’s decision to pause U.S. foreign aid has “substantially disrupted” supply of HIV treatments in the countries.
The global health agency said that Nigeria, Haiti, Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Ukraine could exhaust their supply of HIV treatments in the coming months, according to a report by Reuters quoting WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus.
“The disruptions to HIV programs could undo 20 years of progress,” WHO Director-General Ghebreyesus was quoted to have said at a press conference.
He added that this could lead to over 10 million additional HIV cases and three million HIV-related deaths.
Efforts to tackle HIV, polio, malaria and tuberculosis have been impacted by the U.S. foreign aid pause implemented by President Donald Trump shortly after he took office in January.
The WHO-coordinated Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network, with over 700 sites worldwide, also faces imminent shutdown, the agency said. This comes at a time when measles is making a comeback in the United States.
The United States has a “responsibility to ensure that if it withdraws direct funding for countries, it’s done in an orderly and humane way that allows them to find alternative sources of funding,” Ghebreyesus said on Monday.
Funding shortages could also force 80% of WHO-supported essential health care services in Afghanistan to close, the agency said in a separate statement.
As of March 4, 167 health facilities had shut down due to funding shortages, and without urgent intervention, over 220 more facilities could close by June.
The United States’ plans to exit the WHO have also forced the UN agency, which typically receives about a fifth of its overall annual funding from the U.S., to freeze hiring and initiate budget cuts.
The WHO said on Monday that it plans to cut its funding target for emergency operations to $872 million from $1.2 billion in the 2026-2027 budget period.
Although the Nigerian government has announced plans to locally produceHIV-related medical tools, including test kits and antiretroviral drugs, experts remain sceptical about Nigeria’s ability to fully fund and sustain the initiative.
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On 3 February, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved $1.07 billion to finance the healthcare sector reforms under the Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE) programme.
It also approved N4.8 billion for HIV treatment, according to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun.
As part of government efforts to address the funding gap, the Nigerian Senate also recently allocated an additional N300 billion to the health sector in the 2025 budget.
The additional allocation, equivalent to $200 million, will target health programmes such as TB, HIV, Malaria and Polio.
