FG, UNDP Demand Stronger GBV Protection in Global Fund Plan

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

The Federal Ministry of Justice and the United Nations Development Fund, UNDP has urged stronger integration of legal protection and gender-based violence services into Nigeria’s HIV and TB response, warning that criminalisation and stigma block vulnerable groups from healthcare.

They made the call in Abuja at a one-day National Consultative Workshop on IPV/GBV Programming in Nigeria at an event organised by UNDP in collaboration with the the Global Fund, UN Women, Institute of Human Virology, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Federal ministries of Health and Women Affairs, amongst others.

Rotimi cited national data showing HIV prevalence at 1.4% generally, but said key populations and their partners account for 40% of new infections despite being under 5% of the population.

“TB burden is alarmingly high among HIV-positive key groups: 20.3% among people who inject drugs, 19.1% among female sex workers, and 17.6% among transgender persons. For those with CD4 counts below 200, TB prevalence rises to 26.6%.

“These are not merely health statistics. They are the lived consequences of structural barriers to healthcare access — barriers that are, in significant measure, legal and institutional in nature,” Rotimi said.

He noted 25% of key populations report discrimination from healthcare providers, including verbal abuse, refusal of service, breaches of confidentiality, and fear of arrest.

“When a person who needs HIV testing, PrEP, or antiretroviral treatment is afraid to enter a health facility because the law criminalises their existence, the health system has not failed — it has been structurally prevented from succeeding,” he said.

Rotimi flagged Nigeria’s 75,000–80,000 correctional facility inmates as a routinely excluded group, while noting that overcrowding and limited healthcare accelerate HIV and TB transmission, yet access to testing, ART, and post-GBV support remains grossly inadequate.

On human trafficking, he said survivors face extreme sexual violence and denial of healthcare, often presenting with untreated STIs and trauma. GC8 must integrate anti-trafficking programming with forensic medical care and psychosocial support.

Citing NDHS 2018 data, Rotimi said 30% of women aged 15–49 have experienced sexual violence, with IPV at 35.9% nationally, and with women experiencing IPV are less likely to access HIV testing or adhere to treatment.

“Every GBV case that goes unreported… each of these is a health system failure with a legal dimension,” he said.

He said the Ministry of Justice, through its SGBV Response Unit, is pushing for: “Integration of GBV screening and first-line support into HIV/TB service points,
removal of facility-level barriers deterring key populations, and expansion of health and legal services in correctional facilities.

Others are “Strengthened forensic medical capacity for trafficking survivors, mental health and psychosocial support for key populations and GBV survivors, as well as ring-fenced financing for these interventions in GC8.”

Also, Head of HIV at the Global Fund,
Dr. Izukanji Sikazwe described GBV and IPV as major barriers to ending the HIV epidemic.

Sikazwe said the Global Fund was working with the Federal Government, state institutions and communities to identify sustainable interventions that would reduce GBV and improve access to HIV prevention, treatment and care services.

“We are committed to ending the HIV epidemic, but there are key structural and social barriers that make it difficult to achieve epidemic control, and one of them is gender-based violence.

“We are looking at where the Global Fund and the Government of Nigeria can invest resources to reduce the threat of GBV and IPV so that individuals can access HIV prevention and treatment services,” she said.

Earlier, Onyinye Ndubuisi, Gender Lead, UNDP, said the workshop was convened to review Nigeria’s gender equality, GBV and IPV landscape and identify gaps requiring strategic investments under the GC8 framework.

Ndubuisi said stakeholders were examining legal, policy, social and structural barriers affecting access to services and health outcomes, while seeking to strengthen coordination among relevant institutions.

“We want to build a coordinated platform and strengthen multi-sectoral collaboration. We want evidence-based recommendations that will inform the GC8 funding request and other programme areas.

“This workshop is an opportunity to reflect on how we can advance survivor-centred, rights-based, gender-transformative and inclusive approaches to programming,” she said.

Ndubuisi added that stakeholders were pushing for GBV interventions to be recognised as stand-alone programme components within health and development initiatives rather than being treated as cross-cutting issues.

She said the goal was to ensure that future investments under the Global Fund and other development programmes adequately addressed the needs of survivors through healthcare, economic empowerment, behavioural change interventions and social protection measures.

Mr Hilary Ogbonna, Senior Human Rights Adviser, NHRC, underscored the importance of strong preventive measures, accessible reporting channels,quality support system, legal protection and community engagement.

Ogbonna also called for well-funded, measurable intervention to ensure no vulnerable person is left behind.

The recommendations from the consultation are expected to contribute to Nigeria’s GC8 funding request and strengthen efforts to address the intersections between gender inequality, violence and public health outcomes.