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The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the utilisation of grants received by Nigeria from donor agencies to combat HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria in the country.
This followed the adoption of a motion presented by a lawmaker from Benue, Philip Agbese, at Tuesday’s plenary in Abuja.
In his presentation, Agbese said Nigeria had received an estimated $1.8 billion in grants from the Global Fund from 2021 to 2025 to fight against HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria.
He said the fund was in addition to over $2.8 billion received from USAID to cover other health threats such as HIV, malaria, polio, and tuberculosis between 2022 and 2024.
The lawmaker said Nigeria also received over $6 billion in health assistance from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief from 2021 to 2025 to fight HIV/AIDS and build the capacity of Health and Community Systems.
Agbese said that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare was responsible for the utilisation of the grants from USAID, while the Country Coordinating Mechanism of Nigeria was responsible for utilising and implementing the Global Fund grants in Nigeria.
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“Concerned that with this huge investment in the nation’s response to HIV, TB, and Malaria, Nigeria still bears great burden in all these public health threats.
“In 2023 approximately 15,000 AIDS-related deaths occurred among Nigerian children aged 0-14 years, while 51,000 AIDS-related deaths were recorded in the country, with Nigeria ranking third globally in HIV deaths, and also with the highest number of HIV cases in West and Central Africa.
“In the area of TB, Nigeria ranks first in Africa and sixth in the world, accounting for 4.6 percent global TB burden, while Nigeria bears the highest malaria burden globally, accounting for an estimated 26.6 percent of global cases and 31 percent of malaria deaths.
“Also aware that the UN Sustainable Development Goals have established a target of 2030 for all nations to ensure the elimination of HIV, TB, and Malaria in their Countries, for which, if the status quo continues, Nigeria may likely not meet this target,” he stated.
The House in its resolution, mandated the House Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Control to investigate and report back to the House within four weeks for further legislative action.
The parliament urged the Minister of Health and Social Welfare to provide the implementation plan and approvals granted by the National Assembly for the utilisation and expenditure of the grants.
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