The Kaduna State Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (KADSAMHSA) says it will institutionalise community-based outreach programmes to reduce HIV and hepatitis among women who use drugs.
Dr. Joseph Ike, Director-General of KADSAMHSA, announced this on Wednesday at the opening of a three-day 2026 Linking and Learning Meeting themed “Beyond Outreach: Sustaining Harm Reduction in a Shifting Funding Landscape.”
Ike noted that women who use drugs are often hard to reach, especially in Northern Nigeria, due to social and cultural factors. Estimates from UNODC and the Federal Ministry of Health indicate that about one in four drug users is a woman.
The meeting, organised with the Society for Family Health (SFH), brought together stakeholders from Gombe, Abia, Oyo, and Kaduna states.
Kaduna is the first and only jurisdiction in Sub-Saharan Africa to implement a comprehensive Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) programme in partnership with the UNODC. The meeting aims to facilitate government-to-government learning, validate best practices, and align stakeholders on improving HIV and hepatitis treatment linkages.
Dr. Ike said the meeting also seeks to reinforce institutional ownership of harm reduction, advocate for sustainable financing, and develop evidence-based policy recommendations.
Commissioner for Health, Umma Kaltum-Ahmed, said addressing the needs of women who use drugs is a moral and public health imperative. She emphasised the need to embed harm reduction services into government frameworks, supported by domestic funding and strong policy commitment.
She described the state’s “Team Health” approach as a shift toward a coordinated, system-wide response, highlighting the vulnerabilities women face, including stigma, gender-based violence, and economic hardship.
Kaltum-Ahmed urged other states to adapt Kaduna’s model while maintaining collaboration and assured women who use drugs of the government’s commitment to serving them without judgment or exclusion.
Stakeholders praised SFH for efforts to reduce hepatitis in women with HIV and stressed that health challenges transcend state boundaries, requiring cross-state solutions.
