By Chidinma Ewunonu-Aluko
Stigma and weak domestic funding are doing more to undermine Nigeria’s HIV response than any lack of medical tools, a public health physician has said.
Dr Victor Nelson, a Resident Doctor in Community Medicine at University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in commemoration of World AIDS Vaccine Day on Monday.
NAN reports that the day is celebrated on May 18, annually, to highlight the urgent, ongoing need for a safe and effective vaccine to prevent HIV/AIDS.
Nelson said new infections were rising fastest in the South-South region, particularly in the states of Akwa Ibom and Rivers.
He added that Anambra in the South-East had also been flagged, while Benue State remained one of the most heavily affected overall.
“These reports are concerning, but much of the data still requires validation before firm conclusions can be drawn,” Nelson said.
He said while preventive efforts had improved through local innovation and international support, worsening insecurity was creating new pockets of vulnerability.
The community physician emphasised that the rise in internally displaced persons had disproportionately affected women, children, and adolescents in IDP camps, refugee settlements, and urban slums.
“In these settings, these vulnerable groups face heightened risks of transactional sex and sexual violence for survival.
“Greater targeted interventions are urgently needed,” he said.
Nelson’s most urgent warning centered on stigma.
While working as a Community Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) Consultant in Anambra, he said parents often rejected adolescent daughters diagnosed with HIV, assuming promiscuity even when the infection resulted from rape.
“Some adolescents died from starvation after being rejected by their families, while others suffered severe mental health crises.
“Although the organisation had protection mechanisms in place, we couldn’t always intervene in all cases,” he said.
According to him, if an HIV vaccine becomes available, religious and cultural resistance will be the biggest obstacle to uptake, ahead of cost and logistics.
“We saw similar vaccine hesitancy during COVID-19, even among educated people,” he said.
He also cited similar pushback against methadone-assisted treatment for opioid users despite clear evidence of its benefits.
To address this, the community physician called for a sustained, well-funded awareness campaign led by trusted voices.
“We must proactively address misinformation, particularly fears around DNA alteration, cancer, infertility, or religious concerns like ‘inability to go to heaven.
“Building trust through community leaders, religious institutions, and transparent communication will be critical for high uptake,” he said.
Nelson noted that the single most important policy change would be a legally backed minimum budgetary allocation for HIV prevention, testing, and treatment.
“Nigeria has many good policies on paper, but implementation remains weak.
“The country remains overly dependent on foreign aid, which has proven increasingly unreliable; stronger accountability mechanisms would dramatically improve sustainability and impact,” he said.
He closed with the story of a 13-year-old orphan with Advanced HIV Disease (AHD) who was found abandoned and starving in a South-Eastern state weeks ago.
“Public sympathy after a Good Samaritan shared her case led to state government support.
“HIV is not always a consequence of ‘careless sex, many people living with the virus, including children and adolescents, were infected through rape, mother-to-child transmission, or unsafe blood transfusions.
“Whenever you meet someone living with HIV, offer compassion instead of judgment. Encourage them, support them, and help link them to the nearest hospital for medical care and other forms of care.
“A little kindness can save lives,” the community physician affirmed. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Vivian Ihechu
