The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has called on federal and state governments to adopt and fund its Girls Act programme as part of efforts to reduce HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women in Nigeria.
The organisation made this call in a statement signed by its Senior Advocacy and Marketing Manager, Steve Aborisade, and issued to newsmen in Makurdi on Wednesday.
AHF said empowering girls through access to HIV prevention services, education, menstrual health products, vocational skills and leadership opportunities would help address the social and economic conditions that expose them to HIV infection.
The organisation, in the statement issued to commemorate the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child, noted that despite global progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, adolescent girls and young women have continued to bear a disproportionate burden of the epidemic, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
The organisation explained that poverty, gender inequality, limited access to information and economic dependence often restrict girls’ ability to make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.
According to the organisation, girls who cannot afford menstrual products, have dropped out of school or depend on others financially may face limited choices that increase their vulnerability to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
AHF said these challenges informed the establishment of Girls Act, a global, girl-led initiative launched in 2016 in five countries to address high HIV infection rates among girls and young women.
The programme, which has expanded to nearly 40 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, operates on the principle of “For Girls, By Girls.”
AHF said the Girls Act initially focused on adolescent girls living with HIV but later expanded to include other girls and boys, regardless of their HIV status, with the aim of preventing new infections, supporting treatment adherence, reducing unplanned pregnancies and keeping girls in school.
As of 2026, the initiative had more than 4,500 girls actively participating in its activities and had distributed over one million sanitary pads.
The organisation said the programme combines health education with economic empowerment, helping girls living with HIV remain on treatment while equipping those who are HIV-negative with the knowledge and skills to protect themselves.
It also provides menstrual health education and free sanitary products while teaching girls how to make reusable pads, thereby helping them manage their menstrual health without depending entirely on external supplies.
Beyond healthcare, Girls Act provides vocational training for girls seeking to become financially independent, with participants in Abuja and Benue receiving training in tie-and-dye, bead-making, tote-bag production and the preparation of snacks such as chin-chin, doughnuts and egg rolls.
The programme also supports girls who wish to return to school and provides life-skills training for those who are unable to continue their education.
AHF stressed that its activities were extended to communities to ensure that girls who could not easily travel to training centres were not excluded from the opportunities.
The statement said AHF is implementing a leadership academy in collaboration with Education as a Vaccine (EVA) in Nigeria aimed at developing the leadership capacity of young people.
However, the organisation maintained that non-governmental organisations could not address the challenges alone, urging governments to integrate the Girls Act model into national and state HIV response, education and youth development programmes.
The organisation said “Federal and state governments should domesticate the Girls Act model and fund it, building it into national and state plans for HIV, education and youth development. In practical terms, dedicate budget lines for menstrual health, so no girl misses school for want of a sanitary pad; skills training and start-up support that reach out-of-school girls where they live.”
“They can also support for girls to return to, and stay in, school; establish leadership platforms for girls in schools and communities; and clear pathways linking young people to HIV testing, treatment and care.”
It warned that failure to invest in preventive interventions could result in more HIV infections among young people, lifelong treatment costs, interrupted education and reduced productivity.
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