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In fostering an excellent work culture and staff performance, the Executive Management of the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) has initiated the “Employee Recognition Awards” to recognize “Employees of the Month” and “Employee of the Year.”

According to Dr. Olu Alabi, the IHVN Director of Finance and Administration, this recognition encompasses overall employee performance in areas such as dress code, innovation, teamwork, productivity, efficiency, leadership, interpersonal skills, punctuality, and adherence to company values and principles, among other factors.

For March 2026, IHVN celebrates Benjamin Pillatar, Douglou Samuel, Ayomide Olumefun, Chizurumoke Kalu, Pius Daniel Dung, Jafaru Imuekehme and Haruna Gur Bukar, whose performance stood out in their teams.

Hearty cheers to our March star performers!

As Nigeria officially launches the Long-Lasting Injectable Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, Lenacapavir (LEN PrEP) for HIV prevention, the Chief Executive Officer of Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), Dr. Patrick Dakum has expressed the Institute’s commitment to supporting the government to make the injectable accessible to key populations, vulnerable groups and individuals at high risk of HIV infection.

Dr. Dakum stated this during a ceremony to unveil LEN PrEP in Abuja.

“As the Principal Recipient of the Global Fund in Nigeria, we are committed to translating government policies into actionable points at the community. Our goal is to ensure that there is speed and efficiency implementing programs and we are grateful to work with the government to make this happen. We thank the Global Fund to Fight HIV, Malaria and Tuberculosis. They are a reliable partner in fighting HIV and TB. We will continue to work with local and international partners to succeed.”

At the flag-off ceremony, the Honourable Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate said that with the changing global financing landscape for public health programs, innovation and domestic resource mobilization are essential. He stressed the importance of a sector-wide, integrated approach that ensures that government and partners work together for the sustainability of TB, HIV and malaria programmes.

“While we have had tremendous success in dealing with HIV, TB and malaria over the past five years with support of international partners, the changing global landscape forces us to think differently. Innovative tools like Lenacapavir gives us another instrument to help us finish the work that we know we can do,” he said.

Nigeria was selected by the Global Fund as one of the nine early adopter countries for the introduction of Lenacapavir with 52,000 dozes to be deployed to Anambra, Ebonyi, Gombe, Kwara, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Benue States under a pilot scheme.

At the ceremony, Global Fund Representative, Jean-Thomas Nouboussi said the launch is a demonstration of the effectiveness of partnerships with government, civil society, private sector, communities to fight HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

“Lenacapavir represents a game changer. It is a major advance to the prevention of HIV. It addresses one of the key challenges in the prevention of HIV which was the difficulty of adherence to daily HIV pills. It offers hope for reaching a population that we have not been able to reach because of challenges.”

Mr. Nouboussi stated that, “For the first time, since the beginning of HIV pandemic, a new tool will be rolled out at the same time in developing countries and in the Western countries. We need to recognize this. The Global Fund’s ambition is to reach 2 million people with Lenacapavir by the end of 2028, working with partners. Nigeria will receive by 2028, 179,700 dozes. We expect that the government will step in and accelerate the deployment in the whole country.”

Earlier, IHVN participated in a media parley organized by the National AIDS and STIs Control Programme (NASCP) ahead of the official launch of LEN PrEP, IHVN Director of Special Projects, Dr. Aderonke Agbaje said that the injectable has the potential to improve uptake and adherence of HIV prevention options particularly among key and vulnerable populations who may struggle with daily medications.

“LEN PrEP is not a replacement for existing options but an additional choice within a combination prevention approach. By expanding choice and tailoring prevention to individual needs, Nigeria is better positioned to reduce new infections and move closer to ending HIV as a public health threat,” she said.

She explained that IHVN is supporting the roll-out through a comprehensive system-integrated approach aligned with national leadership under the Federal Ministry of Health and NASCP. This support includes service delivery for access and sustainability, capacity building of health workers, community engagement and demand creation, commodity management through national systems and strengthening data systems and real-time feedback mechanisms.

Researchers at the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) have said that Nigeria’s community midwifery program is effective in addressing maternal, neonatal health challenges in conflict-affected areas in North-East, Nigeria.

They revealed this while unveiling research findings of the Ensuring Quality Access and Learning for Mothers and Newborns in Conflict-Affected Contexts (EQUAL) project at the IHVN Campus in Abuja.

At the close-out meeting, EQUAL Nigeria Principal Investigator, Prof. Emilia Iwu said that the research was conducted in Yobe State from 2021 to 2026.

“28.5% of global maternal deaths occur in Nigeria. What we see is that there is a lifetime risk of maternal death among one in 19 pregnant women in the country. This is unlike developed countries where the risk is one in 4,900 women.

Nigeria has made significant investments in midwifery training and their deployment to underserved and hard-to-reach areas. This initiative was piloted first in Yobe State which is also affected by conflict.

The data shows the community midwives are there working, and communities are being served. Community midwifery graduates are nearly twice as likely to originate from rural areas than basic midwifery graduates, 67% of them are employed by six months with 79% of them providing skilled maternal and new-born care at primary health center level. The evidence is that 98.4% of the community midwives are performing deliveries, 90.2% are providing antenatal care and 69.9% are offering family planning services.”

Prof. Iwu explained that though the community midwifery program is working to address maternal, neonatal health gaps in conflict-affected areas, sustainability threats must be attended to.

“The financing architecture for funding the community midwives’ salaries is fragile and program survival depends on political will. There is also the challenge of attrition to more lucrative positions after approximately five years. These midwives are exposed to insecurity and poor working conditions in remote areas. Nigeria needs to hold up its side of the bargain in supporting sustainability for this initiative,” she emphasized.

At the event, the Acting Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN), Mr. Alhassan Ndagi praised the researchers for their painstaking research which was done in collaboration with the council. Mr. Ndagi who was represented by the Council’s Head of Education Department, Dr. Emmanuel Udontre, assured stakeholders present that steps are already being taken to ensure sustainability of the community midwifery program in the country.

Provost of Shehu Sule College of Nursing Sciences in Damaturu, Hadiza Sabo said the project revealed key findings to guide decisions concerning maternal, neonatal and child health in the state.

Also at the dissemination, EQUAL Nigeria Project Co-Principal Investigator, Dr. Charity Maina, called the attention of policy makers to other key project findings which are, “the Boko Haram insurgency in Yobe State has disrupted maternal, neonatal health (MNH) services and increased the risk faced by pregnant women and health care workers. In addition, gender, cultural and religious beliefs in the state impact care seeking, MNH prioritization and diversity of the health force.”

Dr. Maina called on the government to build accountability measures to make sure MNH funding is protected and not diverted to other competing priorities.

EQUAL is a multi-country research consortium generating evidence on effective approaches to deliver lifesaving MNH care in countries affected by conflict. It is being implemented in DRC, Nigeria, Somalia, and South Sudan – countries with the highest burden of maternal and neonatal deaths worldwide. The project is implemented with funding from the UK Aid from the UK government and implemented by the International Rescue Committee, Institute of Human Virology Nigeria, John Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, Somali Research and Development Institute and the Catholic University of Bukavu.