Challenges and opportunities of foreign aid cuts and HIV/AIDS response in Nigeria: A focus on orphans, vulnerable children, and the Families Matter! Program

Abstract

For more than two decades, United States foreign assistance, particularly through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has been central to Nigeria’s HIV response, supporting antiretroviral therapy (ART), laboratory systems, and community-based prevention initiatives. Among these are programs for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and the Families Matter! Program (FMP), which equips parents and caregivers to guide adolescents away from behaviours that increase HIV risk and help reduce HIV-related stigma within families and communities.