By Juliet Umeh
Nigeria’s National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, working with GEDRITE Nigeria Limited and Lagos State health authorities, on Tuesday launched a statewide campaign aimed at reducing discrimination against people living with HIV, warning that stigma is undermining efforts to end the epidemic by 2030.
The Zero Stigma Campaign, launched in the Ikeja Local Government Area, is being implemented in collaboration with the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency, LSACA, and the Improved Sexual Health and Rights Advocacy Initiative (ISHRAI). The two-day sensitisation drive combines advocacy, community engagement and public education to address what officials describe as a growing pattern of exclusion faced by people living with HIV in homes, workplaces and public spaces.
“This flag-off is long overdue,” said Dr Folakemi Animashaun, chief executive officer of LSACA. “People are being stigmatised and discriminated against in Lagos State, even though there is a law that clearly frowns at such actions.”
Animashaun said Lagos operates Nigeria’s only gender-based violence and HIV stigmatisation intersectional guidelines, which allow for mediation and penalties against offenders. Since the guidelines were introduced three years ago, more than 20 cases have been mediated, she said, with offenders fined.
“There are financial penalties attached, and they are currently under review,” Animashaun said, noting that existing fines of between 50,000 and 100,000 naira ($33–$66) were set under a 2007 law and are now considered outdated. She added that unresolved cases could be taken to court.
Representing NACA Director-General Dr Temitope Ilori, Mr Abdulrahman Mohammed, deputy director of special duty, said stigma and discrimination remain a major obstacle to HIV prevention and treatment nationwide.
“No matter how much government spends on HIV response, if stigma continues to rise, people will be discouraged from testing and accessing treatment,” Mohammed said. “That makes it difficult to achieve the 95-95-95 targets and the goal of ending AIDS by 2030.”
He said Lagos State has domesticated the national anti-stigma law and is currently reviewing it to address emerging challenges. The campaign will be rolled out across four local governments – Alimosho, Ikeja, Surulere and Eti-Osa – as part of efforts to tackle misinformation and promote HIV testing and prevention.
Advocates say stigma remains one of the main drivers of new infections. Patrick Akpan, Lagos State coordinator of the Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), said fear of discrimination prevents many people from disclosing their status or accessing care.
“If we must end AIDS, we must first end stigma,” Akpan said. “Stigma drives people away from testing and treatment, and when people don’t treat, transmission continues.”
ISHRAI Executive Director Olubiyi Oludipe called for greater empathy towards people living with HIV, stressing that casual contact, such as hugging or sharing meals, does not transmit the virus.
At the grassroots level, health officials say sustained education remains critical. Mrs Rashida Sanni Afolabi, health education officer for Ikeja Local Government, said scientific advances now allow people living with HIV to lead normal lives and have HIV-negative children through prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes.
“HIV is not a death sentence,” she said.
The campaign launch drew representatives from transport unions, market associations, faith groups and networks of people living with HIV, in what organisers described as an effort to secure community buy-in and collective ownership of the anti-stigma drive.
