Wellbeing Foundation Meets UNAIDS Exec. Director; Reaffirms Commitment to Curbing HIV/AIDS in Nigeria

L to R: Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Saraki, Founder-President Wellbeing Foundation Africa, UNAIDS Executive Director, Mr. Michel Sidibé, Djibril Diallo West Africa Regional Head of UNAIDS

On the 9th of February 2016, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA) led by Founder-President, H.E. Mrs. Toyin Saraki, met with the UNAIDS Executive Director, Mr. Sidibe, to discuss the progress of HIV/AIDS reduction in Nigeria and explore ways to build synergy between both organizations for the improvement of the livelihoods of Nigerians living with HIV/AIDS. 

With an estimated 50% of people living with HIV in Nigeria being women aged 15 and up, Mrs. Toyin Saraki expressed that HIV/AIDS should be deemed a critical women’s health issue in the country. Since 2004, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa has worked to refine its interventions to deliver successful solutions to people living with the virus, such as its client-held Personal Health Records (PHRs), which can help in the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission (eMTCT) of HIV.

To empower people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and curb the spread of the disease, 

the Foundation established the Alaafia Universal Health Coverage Fund (AUHCF) in partnership with Hygeia Community Health Care - a local health insurance provider - and the PharmAccess Foundation, to fund the insurance premiums of 5,000 people each year – including pregnant women, children under five, adolescent girls, people living with HIV and AIDS, and the elderly – in line with the guiding principles of universal health coverage (UHC). 

Absorbing the Wellbeing Foundation Africa’s original PLWHA frontline Positive Lifeline Programme which helped thousands of lives affected by HIV/AIDS for twelve years by providing counselling, home-visits and direct healthcare for persons living with HIV/AIDS in north-central Nigeria, the Alaafia Universal Health Coverage Fund (AUHCF) continues to play a key role in discovering incidences of PLWHA, while helping them access adequate therapy and much needed medical attention.

During the meeting, Mrs. Saraki stated, “I am…pleased to share with you that the Chief Program Officer of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Mr. Tajudeen Arowolo recently pronounced Kwara as the only state in the north-central zone of Nigeria with the lowest number of HIV/AIDS cases, and one of the lowest in the country, evidence indeed that our intervention approach that integrates improving social determinants within a continuum of care package, by capacitating the patient as an informed partner, is exceptionally effective.”