Mcphalane Ejah, a public health advocate, has warned that Nigeria is “sitting on a keg of gunpowder” due to rising youth ignorance about HIV.

Mr Ejah, chairman of the Prevention Technical Working Group on HIV in Cross River, issued the warning during an interview on Monday in Calabar.

He said World AIDS Day, marked every December 1, remained vital for honouring victims, supporting patients, fighting stigma, and promoting prevention.

He noted that many young people doubted HIV’s existence because they rarely encountered HIV messages on the radio, billboards, or community platforms.

According to him, no deliberate effort exists to provide youth-friendly HIV information despite heavy youth engagement with digital media spaces.

He warned that excluding young people from HIV response plans left a large and vulnerable population segment exposed to avoidable risk.

Mr Ejah said widespread claims of funding masked the reality that civil society organisations lacked support, leaving critical interventions underfunded.

Mr Ejah cautioned that without urgent attention, national HIV efforts would continue as ineffective, symbolic exercises with little practical impact. He identified weak political commitment as a major barrier to equitable HIV prevention and care across the country.

Mr Ejah said state HIV agencies operated with insufficient budgets, adding that approved funds were often not released for implementation.

“Government agencies now depend on foreign partners, making the national HIV response partner-driven rather than government-led,” he said.

Mr Ejah stressed that agencies could not coordinate responses or monitor interventions when unable to finance their basic operational needs.

Mr Ejah said Nigeria’s HIV response remained weakened by inadequate funding and “cosmetic” commitment at both federal and state levels. He added that although the country once showed strong resolve, current funding levels did not support meaningful prevention or intervention work.

(NAN)