Nigeria: Nigerians Turn to Faith Healers As HIV Aid Dries Up
[SciDev.Net] Kano, Scidev.Net -- Aisha* once relied on free antiretroviral therapy (ART) from a clinic in Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria, funded through the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programme. The treatment kept her HIV suppressed.
Kano, Nigeria - As the United States halted its HIV/AIDS funding through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in January 2025, many Nigerians, including Aisha, struggled to continue their treatment. Unable to afford the antiretroviral therapy (ART) that kept her HIV suppressed, Aisha turned to faith healers offering unregulated herbal medicines as a permanent cure.
Similar to Aisha, many others across northern Nigeria, Niger, and Chad have abandoned proven ART for these untested treatments, which are often marketed through social media channels and offline community networks. These healers cite religious texts, including Hadith, as proof of the efficacy of their remedies, leading to accusations of deception and exploitation by Islamic scholars.
While mainstream researchers firmly state that there is no cure for HIV through medication, the reliance on these alternative treatments leaves patients like Aisha facing the grim reality of worsening health and financial ruin.
Written by urgent.news from AllAfrica Health's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
