FG and UNDP Call for Enhanced Gender‑Based Violence Protection in Global Fund Proposal

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

The Federal Ministry of Justice and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) called for a stronger integration of legal protection and gender‑based violence (GBV) services into Nigeria’s HIV and tuberculosis (TB) response. They warned that criminalisation and stigma prevent vulnerable groups from accessing healthcare.

The remarks were made in Abuja during a one‑day National Consultative Workshop on intimate partner violence (IPV) and GBV programming. The event was organised by UNDP in partnership with the Global Fund, UN Women, the Institute of Human Virology, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and the federal ministries of Health and Women Affairs, among others.

Rotimi cited national data showing an overall HIV prevalence of 1.4%. He noted that key populations and their partners, who make up less than 5% of the population, account for 40% of new infections.

“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%,” Rotimi said.

“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,” he added.

He reported that 25% of key populations experience 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,” Rotimi said.

Rotimi highlighted Nigeria’s 75,000–80,000 correctional‑facility inmates as a routinely excluded group. 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 noted that 30% of women aged 15–49 have experienced sexual violence, with IPV at 35.9% nationally. Women who experience 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 Sexual and Gender‑Based Violence 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.”

Other priorities include “strengthened forensic medical capacity for trafficking survivors, mental health and psychosocial support for key populations and GBV survivors, and ring‑fenced financing for these interventions in GC8.”

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

Sikazwe said the Global Fund is working with the Federal Government, state institutions, and communities to identify sustainable interventions that 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,” she said.

“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 added.

Earlier, Onyinye Ndubuisi, Gender Lead at 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,” she said.

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

Ndubuisi also said 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 address the needs of survivors through healthcare, economic empowerment, behavioural change interventions, and social protection measures.

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

Ogbonna also called for well‑funded, measurable interventions 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.