jules Berger Nigeria Plc recently joined other private sector stakeholders to launch the 62.1 billion Naira ($150 million) HIV Trust Fund for Nigeria (HTFN).
The HIV Trust Fund of Nigeria (HTFN) is a private sector-led initiative from the public and private sectors. It aims to ensure sustainable mobilization of funds for the eradication of AIDS in Nigeria, starting with the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Julius Berger Nigeria Plc is donating a sum of N56 million as part of the funds needed to set the trust in motion. The society is one of five Trustee Member Organizations of the Trust Fund and was represented at the event by its Chief Executive, Dr. Lars Richter.
The Fund was officially launched by President Muhammadu Buhari at the banquet hall of Aso Villa and was attended by ministers, senior officials, captains of industry, prominent members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of the United Nations (UN ), world leaders in the fight against HIV and AIDS, and members of the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.
It has been described by world health leaders as a milestone in driving the next stage in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. Theme “No child in Nigeria should be born with HIV; no Nigerian child should be orphaned by HIV; no child in Nigeria should die for lack of access to treatment,” Ms. Winnie Byanyima, who is the Executive Director of UNAIDS, in her opening address, called the initiative commendable.
