Oyo State strengthens domestic HIV funding, partnerships and programme integration to sustain prevention, testing, treatment and care across its 33 LGAs.
The Oyo State Government has stepped up efforts to secure the long-term sustainability of its HIV/AIDS programmes, with renewed emphasis on domestic funding, stronger partnerships and the integration of HIV services into existing government structures.
The move is aimed at protecting the progress recorded in the state’s response to HIV/AIDS while reducing the potential impact of changing donor priorities and declining external funding on prevention, testing, treatment and care services.
The commitment was highlighted during the third-quarter meeting of the Oyo State HIV Resources Mobilisation Technical Working Group and Sustainability Plan Committee, held in Ibadan.
The forum brought together government institutions, development partners, implementing organisations, civil society groups and other stakeholders involved in the state’s HIV response to examine the current funding situation and discuss practical ways of sustaining essential services.
Chairman of the Oyo State Agency for the Control of AIDS (OYSACA), Aare Gbola Adetunji, said the state could no longer depend solely on external support to finance programmes designed to prevent new HIV infections and provide care for people living with the virus.
He explained that developments in the global health financing environment, including donor transitions and emerging funding gaps, had increased the need for Oyo State to establish stronger domestic mechanisms capable of supporting HIV interventions over the long term.
According to him, the sustainability of the HIV response requires deliberate planning and collective action from government and non-governmental stakeholders.
Adetunji said domestic resource mobilisation must become a major component of the state’s strategy for preserving access to HIV-related services, particularly as international funding arrangements continue to evolve.
He stressed that prevention, testing, treatment, care and support could only remain effective if adequate resources were consistently available to sustain them.
The OYSACA chairman also called for closer cooperation among ministries, departments and agencies of government, local government authorities, development partners, non-governmental organisations, private-sector players and community-based organisations.
He said such collaboration would make it easier to coordinate programmes, identify funding opportunities and ensure that available resources are directed towards areas where they are most needed.
With HIV services being delivered across Oyo State’s 33 local government areas, Adetunji noted that maintaining a reliable system would require contributions from multiple sectors rather than leaving the responsibility to a single institution.
He further maintained that the state needed a coordinated and resilient HIV response capable of surviving changes in funding patterns while continuing to meet the needs of vulnerable populations and people living with HIV.
Adetunji commended APIN Public Health Initiatives in Nigeria, the lead implementing partner, for its continued support to the state’s HIV programme.
He also acknowledged the contributions of other implementing partners, government agencies, civil society organisations, faith-based organisations, networks and members of the technical working group.
The chairman said their continued participation had contributed significantly to efforts to strengthen HIV interventions in the state.
He reaffirmed OYSACA’s readiness to maintain discussions with relevant government institutions and development partners as part of efforts to develop a more coordinated and financially sustainable framework for the state’s HIV response.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Oyo State Board of Internal Revenue, Mr Adebowale Awakan, represented at the meeting by the Deputy Director, Barrister Mustapha Olagoke Ogunsola, drew attention to the importance of taxation and other domestic financing channels.
Ogunsola said strengthening domestic resource mobilisation was critical to ensuring that important public health programmes were not disrupted whenever external funding became limited.
He identified taxation, social responsibility and effective integration of programmes as areas that could contribute to improving the state’s capacity to finance HIV interventions.
According to him, integration should now be viewed as a necessity rather than an alternative, particularly in an environment where government and development resources are under increasing pressure.
He urged stakeholders to examine how existing resources and structures could be used more efficiently instead of creating parallel systems that could lead to duplication and unnecessary expenditure.
The Board of Internal Revenue representative also called for improved coordination among organisations implementing HIV-related interventions.
He said better coordination would help stakeholders avoid overlapping programmes, maximise available resources and improve the overall impact of interventions across communities.
Ogunsola further encouraged the stakeholders to consider innovative approaches to financing HIV programmes, stressing that long-term sustainability would depend on the ability to diversify funding sources and make efficient use of resources already available.
The third-quarter meeting provided an opportunity for stakeholders to review activities and progress recorded in the HIV response during the third quarter of 2026.
Participants examined the financial challenges confronting the programme, identified existing gaps and discussed possible measures for addressing them.
The deliberations also focused on strengthening collaboration between government and partner organisations while ensuring that HIV interventions are properly aligned with existing government systems.
The emphasis on integration is expected to improve coordination and reduce the possibility of different organisations implementing similar interventions without adequate collaboration.
Stakeholders also considered the importance of maintaining uninterrupted access to HIV prevention, testing, treatment, care and support services throughout the state.
The discussions reflected growing recognition that preserving the gains achieved in the fight against HIV/AIDS requires more than short-term interventions or dependence on a single source of funding.
For Oyo State, the sustainability agenda is expected to place greater responsibility on government institutions while encouraging continued support from development partners, the private sector, civil society and community-based organisations.
The approach is also expected to strengthen the state’s ability to respond to future changes in the health financing landscape without compromising essential services.
At the end of the meeting, stakeholders renewed their commitment to collective action, stronger domestic financing and improved coordination of HIV interventions.
The stakeholders agreed that a sustainable funding structure would be essential to maintaining the progress already achieved and expanding access to services across the state’s 33 local government areas.
The state government, through OYSACA, therefore reiterated its commitment to building an HIV response that is financially stronger, better coordinated and capable of protecting the health gains recorded over the years.
The renewed focus on domestic resource mobilisation signals Oyo State’s intention to gradually strengthen local ownership of its HIV programmes while sustaining collaboration with partners supporting the state’s public health objectives.
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