The United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has commended the collaborative efforts between the United States and Nigeria in combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic and addressing the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Blinken, during his visit to the Nigerian Institute for Medical Research in Lagos on Wednesday, highlighted the extraordinary work accomplished through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programme.
He stated that the programme, which has been sustained through successive administrations, has played a pivotal role in saving over 20 million lives and transforming the destinies of millions more.
The Secretary of State also lauded Nigeria’s effective use of the PEPFAR platform to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that the collaborative effort enabled Nigeria to adapt and develop diagnostic kits locally, demonstrating resilience and self-sufficiency in the face of disruptions to global supply chains.
“What’s even more powerful about it is that because of the work that we did and the platform that we established, when COVID hit, our friends here were able to use the PEPFAR platform to address the COVID challenge and do it so successfully,” Secretary Blinken stated.
“And even more, so much of the knowledge that they’ve built up over the years allowed them to really take matters into their own hands and, for example, develop right here diagnostic kits. When supply chains were disrupted, when it was hard to get things moving around the world, they took matters into their own hands,
“And that’s because one of the very powerful things about what we do working with others is we transfer knowledge, we transfer expertise, and ultimately that leads to our friends and partners developing their own strong capacity to do things for themselves.”
Blinken added that the Nigerian Institute for Medical Research is a testament to this collaboration; it has not only been actively treating individuals but has also engaged in groundbreaking research and the development of diagnostic tools, contributing to not only the health security of Nigeria but increasingly for countries in the region and ultimately for everyone else in the world.
“So seeing this today, it’s just a powerful example of the partnership between the United States and Nigeria on public health and the – really the transition from simply providing assistance, as important as that is, to helping our partners develop the capacity to work so effectively for themselves as well as for other people. So I’m really grateful for the opportunity to see this firsthand,”
He also stressed the urgency of extending the PEPFAR programme, noting its critical role in saving lives, addressing HIV/AIDS comprehensively, and fortifying public health systems.
“One final thing – it only underscores the importance of continuing to extend the PEPFAR program and getting that done and getting that done quickly. It is literally a matter of saving more lives, changing more lives, dealing once and for all with HIV/AIDS, but also continuing to strengthen public health systems so that when the next epidemic comes along – and it will – we and countries around the world are in a much better place to deal with it quickly and effectively.
“The stakes are real. They couldn’t be higher, but you can see the results – the positive results – when we work with this kind of collaboration. Thank you.”
