Nigeria HIV Funding Gaps: Budgets Approved, Funds Withheld in Rivers, Akwa Ibom
Premium Times investigation shows that Rivers and Akwa Ibom states repeatedly budgeted millions for HIV response but released almost none of the funds, while federal NACA spent only a fraction of its approved capital budget. In Akwa Ibom, the State Agency for the Control of AIDS got capital allocations of N24.05 million in 2023, N10 million in 2024, N33 million in 2025 and N150 million in 2026, yet received no capital releases between 2023 and 2024, and NACA says only 1% of 2024‑25 appropriations were actually spent. Rivers State budgeted N180 million in 2023 and N230.66 million in 2024 for HIV interventions, but corresponding implementation reports show zero releases, and NACA confirmed no HIV/AIDS spending in the state during the period. Federally, despite approving N18.27 billion for NACA in 2025, only N36.68 million (0.3%) was spent by May 2026, with most of that going to cleaning services and staff rice purchases rather than HIV programmes.
The consequence is collapsed community HIV services: counsellors disappear, drug delivery stops, support groups end, and patients like Grace—who relied on discreet home deliveries—are forced into public clinics, recognized, stigmatized, and drop out of care. As donor funding shrinks, the gap threatens Nigeria’s ability to meet the UNAIDS 95‑95‑95 targets, risking new infections and reversing two decades of progress.
NACA points to its National Domestic Resource Mobilisation strategy and the HIV Trust Fund, but asks: will state governments finally convert budget promises into real spending to keep people on treatment and protect public health?