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African Union endorses new initiatives to end AIDS.
AFRICAN heads of state have endorsed two major new initiatives to help end AIDS by 2030. The community health workers initiative aims to recruit, train and deploy 2 million community health workers across Africa by 2020. The western and central Africa catch-up plan aims to rapidly accelerate access to HIV treatment in the region and close the gap in access between African regions. The initiatives were endorsed at the AIDS Watch Africa Heads of State and Government Meeting, held on 3 July during the 29th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Western and central Africa catch-up plan
Under the leadership of countries and regional economic communities, and in collaboration with UNAIDS, the World Health Organization, Doctors Without Borders and other partners, the catch-up plan in western and central Africa, which started implementation in late 2016, seeks to dramatically accelerate the scale-up of HIV testing, prevention and treatment programmes, with the goal of putting the region on the Fast-Track to meet the 90–90–90 targets by December 2020.
While the world witnesses significant progress in responding to HIV, with 57% of all people living with HIV knowing their HIV status, 46% of all people living with HIV accessing treatment and 38% of all people living with HIV virally suppressed in 2015, the western and central Africa region lags behind, achieving only 36%, 28% and 12%, respectively, in 2015. The gap is considerable: 4.7 million people living with HIV are not receiving treatment, and 330 000 adults and children died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2015.
“We cannot accept a two-speed approach to ending AIDS in Africa,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé. “To put western and central Africa on track to end AIDS, we must address stigma, discrimination and other challenges to an effective response, allocate funding to support the most effective strategies and implement delivery strategies that reach the communities most in need.”
The catch-up plan will aim to increase the number of people on treatment from 1.8 million to 2.9 million by mid-2018, giving an additional 1.2 million people, including 120 000 children, access to urgently needed treatment.
The first call for a catch-up plan for the region was made at the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS in June 2016. Since then, at least 10 countries (Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone) have developed country operational plans deriving from the western and central Africa catch-up plan with a focus on ensuring the needed policy and structural changes.
Two million community health workers
To put western and central Africa on track to end AIDS, we must address stigma, discrimination and other challenges to an effective response
The community health worker initiative aims to accelerate progress towards achieving the 90–90–90 targets by 2020—whereby 90% of all people living with HIV know their HIV status, 90% of people who know their HIV-positive status are accessing treatment and 90% of people on treatment have suppressed viral loads—and to lay the foundation for sustainable health systems. Championed by the President of Guinea and African Union Chair, Alpha Condé, the initiative seeks to confront the acute health workforce shortages across Africa and improve access to health services for the most marginalized populations, including people living in rural areas.
“Recruiting 2 million community health workers is a critical step towards achievement of the Africa-wide socioeconomic transformation envisioned in the African Union’s Agenda 63”, said Mr Condé. “Few tools have the ability of community health workers to drive progress across the entire breadth of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
Substantial evidence, from both Africa and elsewhere, demonstrates that well-trained, properly supervised community health workers provide an excellent quality of care and improve the efficiency and impact of health spending. Community health workers have helped devise some of the most effective service delivery strategies for HIV testing and treatment, and studies have also linked community-delivered services with increased rates of immunization, exclusive breastfeeding and malaria control coverage.
“Sustainable community health work is a matter of survival and development in Ethiopia, said Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegn. “My community health workers have made better health happen. Achieving universal health coverage is not possible without building community health systems.”
UNAIDS estimates that there are more than 1 million community health workers in Africa today, but most focus on a single health problem and are under-trained, unpaid or under-paid, and not well integrated in health systems. The new initiative endorsed by AIDS Watch Africa seeks to retrain existing community health workers, where feasible, and to recruit new health workers to reach the 2 million target.
“Few investments generate such a remarkable social and economic return as community health workers,” said Jeffrey Sachs, Director, Earth Institute, Columbia University. “Community health worker programmes are essentially self-sustaining, in that they avert illness, keep workers healthy and productive and contribute to economic growth and opportunity.”
While community health workers may hold the key in many settings to achieving the 90–90–90 targets, the benefits of this new initiative extend well beyond the AIDS response. The initiative will expedite gains across the health targets of Sustainable Development Goal 3, create new jobs that will strengthen local and national economies and offer new opportunities to young people. The new initiative is aligned with the World Health Organization’s Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health.
Start Free Stay Free AIDS Free
At the AIDS Watch Africa meeting, the participants also called on member states and development partners to support the African Union campaign to eliminate new HIV infections among children and keep mothers alive as part of the Start Free Stay Free AIDS Free collaborative framework.
“Complacency gives birth to regression of the gains made in reducing HIV prevalence, said, Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda. “We in Uganda have rekindled the campaign to end AIDS; the science exists, as well as the medication. We can win this battle.”
AIDS Watch Africa is a statutory entity of the African Union with the specific mandate to lead advocacy, accountability and resource mobilization efforts to advance a robust African response to end AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria by
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The Minister-designate for Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, has firmly clarified that he never promised to fix Nigeria’s national electricity grid within three months, describing such claims circulating in sections of the media as a misrepresentation of his Senate screening remarks.
A statement issued after his appearance before the Senate stressed that Tegbe was deliberate and cautious in his presentation, avoiding unrealistic timelines while outlining a structured reform pathway for the power sector.
According to the clarification, Tegbe explained that while Nigerians can expect early signs of progress, particularly in grid stabilisation within his first 100 days in office, comprehensive reforms will be guided strictly by technical assessments, stakeholder consultations, and sector realities.
He noted that critical challenges such as gas supply constraints, metering gaps, infrastructure decay, and commercial inefficiencies require coordinated interventions that cannot be resolved through arbitrary timelines.
“My commitment to this distinguished chamber and to Nigerians is clear: we will deliver visible and measurable improvement in the power sector,” Tegbe stated during the screening.
He assured that his focus would include stabilising the national grid, modernising transmission and distribution infrastructure, strengthening commercial frameworks, and enforcing accountability across the electricity value chain.
On tariff policy, the minister-designate reaffirmed that reforms would be carefully designed to balance sustainability with social protection, ensuring that vulnerable households are shielded while also restoring investor confidence in the sector.
The statement further emphasised that Tegbe’s approach reflects discipline, technical understanding, and a reform-minded agenda aimed at delivering lasting solutions rather than short-term political promises.
It added that he remains open to responsible media engagement and constructive clarification where necessary, noting that accurate reporting is essential to public understanding of ongoing efforts to reposition Nigeria’s power sector.
Tegbe reaffirmed his readiness to lead a transparent, results-driven reform process anchored on accountability, realism, and measurable progress.
A grand cultural renaissance celebrating the enduring legacy of legendary Yoruba war hero and statesman, Ogedengbe Agbogungboro, will take centre stage as the 2026 edition of Ogedengbe Fiesta holds from July 29 to 31 across Osun State and Ekiti State.
The three-day heritage festival, unveiled by organisers on Wednesday, is themed, “Ogedengbe Agbogungboro Legacy: Leadership, Security, and Statecraft for Modern Governance in Nigeria.”
The event is designed to preserve Yoruba cultural heritage, deepen historical consciousness, promote tourism and stimulate national conversations on leadership, peacebuilding and governance.
According to the organisers, the fiesta will commence with traditional homage at Atorin and heritage excursions to notable Kiriji War historical sites in Imesi-Ile, where participants will relive significant moments in Yoruba military and political history.
The programme will also feature guided visits to the historic Ogedengbe Cave, Ibu Latoosa Site and the Yoruba Peace Treaty Grove, all regarded as symbolic monuments of Yoruba resilience, diplomacy and unity.
As part of activities lined up for the celebration, participants will tour the gardens of renowned legal icon and elder statesman, Afe Babalola, in Okemesi-Ekiti.
The organisers further disclosed that a Legacy Awards and Hall of Fame Investiture ceremony would hold in Ilesa to honour individuals who have contributed immensely to the promotion of Yoruba culture, leadership and community development.
A distinguished personality lecture in honour of Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, OFR, CON, and Arole Fabunmi of Okemesi-Ekiti is also expected to headline the event, with scholars, traditional rulers, cultural enthusiasts and public intellectuals billed to discuss pathways to strengthening governance and security through indigenous values and historical lessons.
The organisers noted that all activities would commence daily by 11am, adding that the festival would serve as a rallying point for lovers of Yoruba culture, history and tourism across Nigeria and beyond.
They described the fiesta as not only a celebration of the heroic exploits of Ogedengbe Agbogungboro, but also a strategic platform to inspire a new generation of leaders through the ideals of courage, unity, patriotism and visionary leadership.
The Federal Government on Tuesday ruled out any plan to reinstate fuel subsidy despite worsening economic hardship and mounting public pressure.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, stated this in Paris, France, during a meeting with global investors alongside President Bola Tinubu.
Oyedele said the government would also not introduce price controls, stressing that market forces remain the preferred mechanism for determining petrol prices.
“We will not bring back fuel subsidy because it creates distortions for the economy, and we won’t introduce price control because we believe in the market,” he said.
The minister argued that the subsidy regime had long undermined economic efficiency, adding that emerging global energy shifts, including developments in Iran, present fresh investment opportunities for Nigeria.
The removal of petrol subsidy in May 2023 triggered a steep rise in inflation, worsening the country’s cost-of-living crisis.
Nigeria’s headline inflation climbed from 22.41 per cent in May 2023 to 34.19 per cent by June 2024 — its highest level in nearly two decades — driven by surging fuel, food, and transportation costs.
Food inflation further accelerated, exceeding 39 per cent by October 2024, while transport fares soared by nearly 300 per cent, compounded by currency devaluation.
Despite the economic strain, Tinubu defended the policy, saying it had stabilised the foreign exchange market.
“Subsidy that was a burden to the entire country was removed, and ever since we have achieved FX stability,” the President said, according to his Special Assistant on Social Media, Dada Olusegun.
In a related statement, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the administration’s reforms were aimed at eliminating structural distortions, strengthening macroeconomic stability, and laying the foundation for inclusive growth.
He added that the government remained committed to fiscal discipline and transparency.
Highlighting economic progress, Oyedele disclosed that Nigeria recorded an 11.2 per cent growth in Gross Domestic Product in dollar terms in 2025, describing it as a major step towards the country’s ambition of building a $1tn economy by 2030.
He also pledged that the government would begin publishing quarterly financial reports to enhance accountability and public trust.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha, assured investors of Nigeria’s commitment to prudent borrowing and sustainable debt management.
The Federal Government has continued to defend its reform agenda despite growing public discontent, insisting that the long-term gains will outweigh the current economic pains.
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