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To Protect Everyone’s Health, Protect Everyone’s Rights – Leopold Zekeng

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To Protect Everyone’s Health, Protect Everyone’s Rights – Leopold Zekeng

By: Michael Mike

The enactment of Nigeria’s HIV/AIDS Anti-Discrimination Act – a national law hinged on the protection of the rights of people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS from discrimination based on their HIV status, is indeed progressive. However, to date, only about 18 states in Nigeria have domesticated the Act.
Evidence from the Nigeria PLHIV Stigma Index Survey revealed that 24.5% of adults aged 35-44 and 21.7% of young adults aged 18-24 have experienced stigma and discrimination. In some instances, key populations in Nigeria have experienced discrimination, violent law enforcement practices, arrests and other forms of human rights violations. Violence and discrimination against women and girls also remain pervasive. These violations often shove persons living with HIV and key populations to the margins of society, denying them access to life-saving health and social services, including HIV services.
Globally, 38 countries have pledged to end HIV-related stigma and discrimination through the Global Partnership for Action to Eliminate all Forms of HIV-Related Stigma and Discrimination (Global Partnership). These are hard-fought gains. Nonetheless, Nigeria is yet to formally join the Global Partnership.
However, the unwavering commitments and investments by stakeholders including the Nigerian government, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), UNAIDS, Global Fund, United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and other partners, have been instrumental in catalyzing progress towards ending stigma and discrimination in Nigeria. Communities of persons living with HIV have also been at the frontline of combatting stigma and discrimination. Recently, the Community of Practice to address HIV-related stigma and discrimination in Nigeria was launched by the Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), Association of Women Living with HIV in Nigeria (ASWHAN) & Association of Young People living with HIV in Nigeria (APYIN). The platform seeks to facilitate capacity strengthening, exchange of best practices and promote synergy amongst stakeholders in addressing stigma and discrimination in health care, education, workplace, justice systems, communities, emergency and humanitarian settings.
When marginalized communities are criminalized or stigmatized, their vulnerability to HIV infection increases, and their access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support services is obstructed. Countries that are beating the AIDS epidemic are doing so by repealing laws and policies that discriminate, by expanding human rights for all and by allowing marginalized communities to lead the response.
Public health is undermined when laws, policies, practices or norms enshrine punishment, discrimination or stigma for people because they are women, key populations, or persons living with HIV. Discrimination obstructs HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care, and holds back progress towards the end of AIDS.
We have hope, however, from communities on the frontlines. As Dr. Martin Luther King noted, “Social progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of people.” It is the communities most affected by discrimination that are leading the pushback against the erosion of their right to health, against the right to life. They are uniting their efforts to protect and advance human rights. They need, and deserve, all our support. The rights path strengthens entire societies, making them better equipped to deal with the challenges we face today and those that are emerging.
The right to non-discrimination as guaranteed under Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant human rights treaties and standards, is the cornerstone of international human rights law. Having ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other relevant treaties, the Nigerian government has an obligation to ensure that national laws and policies do not discriminate against people and that all persons including persons living with HIV are protected against such discrimination by third parties.
Furthermore, the Global Aids Strategy requires that all countries including Nigeria create an enabling legal environment by removing punitive laws, introducing and enforcing protective legislations and policies, and eradicating the abuse of criminal and general laws to target people living with HIV and key populations.
Discrimination against anyone is harmful to the health of everyone. For Nigeria to deliver on the promise to end AIDS by 2030, action is urgently needed to advance the protection of the human rights of everyone, everywhere. The Zero Discrimination Day, celebrated around the world every 1 March, presents an opportunity for Nigeria to strengthen its commitment through ensuring the domestication and effective implementation of the HIV/AIDS Anti-Discrimination Act in all states across Nigeria, formally joining the Global Partnership, committing to take actions on HIV-related stigma and discrimination across all six settings; and letting communities lead in addressing stigma and discrimination.
Dr Leopold Zekeng, UNAIDS Nigeria Country Director, writes from Abuja.

To Protect Everyone’s Health, Protect Everyone’s Rights – Leopold Zekeng

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Centre lauds Kaduna Govt over life skills, gender education policies approval

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Centre lauds Kaduna Govt over life skills, gender education policies approval

By Aisha Gambo

The Centre for Girls’ Education (CGE) has commended the Kaduna State Executive Council for approving the Kaduna State Life Skills Policy and the State Policy on Gender in Education (SPGE 2026–2030).

The Executive Director of the organisation, Habiba Mohammed, made this known in a statement issued on Wednesday in Kaduna.

She said the approval marked a transition from donor-supported, time-bound interventions to a sustainable, government-led framework for delivering life skills education and promoting gender equity in schools.

According to her, the Life Skills Policy will equip young people with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values required to succeed in education, employment and life, while the Gender in Education Policy providzbves a framework to promote equity, inclusion, participation, retention, completion and improved learning outcomes.

“The approval moves life skills and gender equity from the margins of the classroom into the core of Kaduna State’s education system,” she said.

Mohammed said CGE contributed to the development and validation of the policies through its system-strengthening project supported by Co-Impact, OASIS Initiative and the Malala Fund, in collaboration with the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) and the Kaduna State Ministry of Education.

She said the policies built on more than 18 years of the organisation’s Safe Space model, which independent evaluations showed had helped reduce child marriage, increase school enrolment and delay early marriage.

According to her, the AGILE programme in Kaduna has reached more than 127,319 girls and 6,250 boys between the ages of 14 and 18, while over 1,400 female and male teachers have been trained as mentors.

She added that institutionalising the model through public policy would ensure that life skills education became a permanent component of the state’s education system.

Mohammed said the policies would address barriers to school access, retention and completion, particularly for girls and other vulnerable learners.

She added that they would also institutionalise life skills as a co-curricular programme, strengthen evidence-based decision-making across the state’s 23 local government areas and guarantee continuity beyond donor-funded programmes.

The executive director commended Gov. Uba Sani for providing the leadership that made the policy approval possible.

She also appreciated the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Abubakar Sani Sambo, the Kaduna State Ministry of Education, the AGILE State Project Implementation Unit, the World Bank and other stakeholders for their contributions to the process.

Mohammed reaffirmed CGE’s commitment to supporting the Kaduna State Government with technical assistance during the implementation phase, including teacher training, gender-responsive education sector budgeting and monitoring.

She said the ultimate goal was to ensure that every girl and boy in Kaduna State had the opportunity to learn, develop and thrive.

Centre lauds Kaduna Govt over life skills, gender education policies approval

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Troops Kill Six ISWAP Fighters, Wound Seven in Failed Attack on Borno Military Base

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Troops Kill Six ISWAP Fighters, Wound Seven in Failed Attack on Borno Military Base

By: Zagazola Makama

Six fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) were reportedly killed and seven others seriously wounded during a failed attack on a Forward Operating Base (FOB) at Logomani in Borno State, credible intelligence sources have disclosed.

The sources told Zagazola Makama that the terrorists launched the attack on the military position in the early hours of July 7 but suffered significant casualties after troops mounted a fierce resistance.

According to the intelligence assessment, the attackers had assembled at Garal before advancing on the military base.

Following the failed assault, surviving insurgents were reportedly seen regrouping at Chukun Gudu, where they buried six of their fighters killed during the encounter.

Among those reportedly buried was a senior fighter identified as Munzir, also known as Ba Alayi, who was said to be an indigene of Wulgo.

The development comes as troops of Operation HADIN KAI continue sustained clearance operations aimed at dismantling terrorist enclaves and disrupting insurgents’ logistics and mobility across the Lake Chad region.

Troops Kill Six ISWAP Fighters, Wound Seven in Failed Attack on Borno Military Base

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Cholera Outbreak Kills Nine ISWAP Terrorists in Timbuktu Triangle

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Cholera Outbreak Kills Nine ISWAP Terrorists in Timbuktu Triangle

By: Zagazola Makama

A cholera outbreak has reportedly claimed the lives of nine fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the Timbuktu Triangle, a known terrorist stronghold in Borno State, intelligence sources have disclosed.

The sources told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the outbreak had spread through the group’s enclaves, highlighting deteriorating sanitary conditions and limited access to medical care within the insurgents’ camps.

According to the intelligence, two additional ISWAP fighters infected with the disease were allegedly executed by fellow terrorists after attempts to manage their condition at Kimba village proved unsuccessful.

The sources said the development pointed to the worsening health conditions within the terrorist hideouts, where sustained military pressure has disrupted logistics, including access to medicines and treatment facilities.

The sources added that commanders had also been urged to intensify efforts to intercept medical supplies and pharmaceuticals intended for terrorist camps in order to further degrade ISWAP’s treatment capability and operational resilience.

The reported outbreak comes amid sustained offensives by troops of Operation HADIN KAI, who continue to target terrorist enclaves and logistics networks across the Lake Chad region in a bid to degrade the insurgents’ fighting capacity.

Cholera Outbreak Kills Nine ISWAP Terrorists in Timbuktu Triangle

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