Nigeria

With a population of 140 million, Nigeria has 2.9 million HIV-infected people, the largest number in the world after India and South Africa. The HIV seroprevalence rate is 4.4 percent. HIV also has orphaned an estimated 930,000 children in Nigeria.

In 2005, ICAP began supporting the development of HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs in Nigeria's Kaduna and Cross River States, which have HIV prevalence rates of 6 and 12 percent, respectively. More recently, ICAP began supporting HIV/AIDS services in Benue State. In addition to limited healthcare infrastructures, all three states face severe shortages of clinical and laboratory personnel.

To address the needs of HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs in Nigeria, ICAP supports infrastructure improvements, human resource development, capacity building, and technical assistance. ICAP also works closely with the Government of Nigeria on national guidelines for HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs and the development of data collection systems at the site level. ICAP is also instrumental in promoting implementation of effective programming for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, antiretroviral therapy (ART), integrated tuberculosis/HIV care and treatment, and ensuring safe blood supplies.

Additional ICAP-supported activities in Nigeria include:

  • HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment for HIV-infected pregnant women, including ART;
  • PMTCT, including counseling, testing, and provision of ART prophylaxis;
  • Support for diagnosis of HIV/AIDS in infants and children;
  • PMTCT, including counseling, testing, and provision of ART prophylaxis;
  • Provision of palliative care;
  • HIV testing of the general population and partners of HIV-infected individuals;
  • Establishing a referral network to enable people living with HIV/AIDS to access care and support services;
  • Provision of HIV/AIDS outreach services to the communities;
  • Training programs for healthcare workers in adult care and treatment, pediatric ART, PMTCT, HIV counseling and testing, ART adherence counseling, infant feeding, Good Laboratory Practice, and monitoring and evaluation;
  • Renovation of laboratories, including the procurement of new laboratory equipment, and infrastructure improvements;
  • Provision of services to Orphans and Vulnerable Children.