UNDP Pushes Nigeria to Link GBV Response with HIV Treatment Plans

The United Nations Development Programme and partner organizations have pressed Nigeria to embed gender-based violence interventions into the country's HIV response strategy, particularly as the nation prepares funding proposals for the Global Fund's eighth grant cycle. A workshop held in Abuja this week brought together federal health and justice officials, civil society groups, and development partners to discuss how intimate partner violence and broader gender-based violence obstruct access to HIV treatment and prevention services.

Participants included representatives from the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Ministry of Women's Affairs, and the National Human Rights Commission. The workshop noted that violence, stigma, and discrimination continue to prevent women, girls, and other vulnerable populations from seeking or completing HIV care.

Officials from the justice sector, including representatives of the prosecutorial arm, underscored that health challenges connected to HIV cannot be separated from questions of legal protection and human rights enforcement. Data cited during the workshop showed that key populations account for approximately 40 percent of new HIV infections despite representing only 5 percent of Nigeria's population.

Among people living with HIV, tuberculosis prevalence is notably elevated in key populations, reaching 20.3 percent in some groups, according to the sources. The integration of gender-based violence responses into health programming was identified as necessary to improve service uptake among these populations.

The UNDP and participating organizations called for stronger coordination between health and justice sector responses to gender-based violence. The emphasis on multi-sector collaboration reflects a shift toward addressing legal protections, criminalization concerns, and health service delivery as interconnected components of Nigeria's Global Fund proposal for the grant cycle.