Posted on 08/21/2026 12:43:25 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A notice promoting an HIV/AIDS medicine product from Nigeria traditional healer Sarkin Lakanin Jihar Kano. When US funding cuts disrupted access to free antiretroviral therapy, some Nigerians turned to traditional healers marketing herbal ‘cures’ framed as Islamic medicine. Copyright: Photo Courtesy of Sarkin Lakanin Jihar Kano Speed read
[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.
That changed when US President Donald Trump ordered a halt to PEPFAR funding in January 2025.
“When I went to the facility and was told the drugs were no longer available for free, my heart sank because I couldn’t afford to pay for them out of pocket,” Aisha told SciDev.Net.
“I believed that because the medicine was rooted in religious scripture, it couldn’t fail me. I thought it’s a permanent way out since the clinics have nothing left to give out for free. ” ‘Aisha’, HIV patient, Maiduguri, Nigeria Although PEPFAR partially resumed its activities in February 2025, the programme was subject to significant budget cuts. A study by AIDS research foundation amfAR found that at least 1,714 HIV service sites globally closed entirely after terminated or delayed PEPFAR payments and almost none could replace lost funding.
Facing donor stockouts and financial barriers, Aishia and other HIV patients across northern Nigeria, Niger and Chad have been abandoning proven ART for unregulated alternatives marketed locally under the guise of so-called “Islamic medicine”, SciDev.Net reporting found.
“When someone talked to me about a traditional healer whose medicine could cure the virus permanently after just one treatment, I decided to sell my household furniture to buy it,” explained Aisha, recalling the healer’s unfounded claims.
Her desperation reflects a growing trend across northern Nigerian urban centres such as Kano, Bauchi, Gombe and Maiduguri, where alternative health practitioners are filling the treatment void left by the funding cuts.
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Operating through offline community networks and social media channels, some of these practitioners market herbal concoctions, promising a total cure in a few months through a one-off purchase of their products.
“I thought it would be a sacrifice that would save my life and my pockets once and for all,” Aisha told SciDev.Net.
Globally, PEPFAR has invested over US$100 billion in the fight against HIV/AIDS since 2003, supporting antiretroviral treatment for more than 20 million people in over 50 countries.
In Nigeria, PEPFAR has disbursed over US$7.8 billion to provide more than 1.9 million people with access to ART, in a country with the fourth-largest HIV burden globally after South Africa, Mozambique and India.
But the US aid freezes created an opportunity for healers pedalling untested treatments.
‘Cure’ claims In Kano, Yusuf Muhammad Sufi, a traditional healer popularly known as Sarkin Lakanin Jihar Kano, claims his products, which he sells for N45,000 (US$33) for HIV treatment and up to N250,000 (US$183) for advanced AIDS regimens, have “cured” most of the patients who used them.
Similarly, Abdullahi Yunus Umar, who runs the Kashful Aleel Islamic Medicine Centre, operating in Kano and Borno states, says his remedies have reportedly “cured” people living with HIV across Sokoto, Kano, Bauchi and Maiduguri, something even modern medicine has not yet achieved.
Abubakar Ibrahim, senior registrar in the Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease Unit at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, told SciDev.Net that “scientifically, there’s no cure to HIV using medication. The ART we use in Nigeria cannot cure HIV”.
ART prevents HIV from multiplying, or making copies of itself, which reduces the amount of the virus (the viral load) in the body. This gives the immune system a chance to recover and produce more CD4-T cells, which fight infection.
“The ART only suppresses the viral load to undetectable levels to prevent it from circulating in the body,” Ibrahim explained.
Remedies like those promoted by Umar and Sufi are often promoted within a religious context. Practitioners often cite a Hadith (a saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, considered a source of Islamic teaching alongside the Quran) that they interpret as meaning God created no disease without also creating its cure.
In predominantly Muslim northern Nigeria, invoking this teaching can make their claims more persuasive to patients.
“I believed that because the medicine was rooted in religious scripture, it couldn’t fail me,” said Aisha. “I thought it’s a permanent way out since the clinics have nothing left to give out for free.”
‘Act of deception’ Research on therapeutic choices in Kano show how passages from classical texts on prophetic medicine are cited by both traditional healers and patients.
Mainstream Islamic scholars strongly insist that this is a form of commercial exploitation of the Islamic texts.
One of Sarkin Lakanin Jihar Kano's offices near one of Kano's biggest hospitals. One of Sarkin Lakanin Jihar Kano’s offices near one of Kano’s biggest hospitals.
“Selling ineffective remedies that don’t perform the functions claimed is an act of deception strictly forbidden by Allah,” explains Muhammad Mahmud Mustapha, an Islamic scholar based in Kano.
“Anyone who falls victim to this fraud has a religious right to demand accountability for their stolen wealth and their endangered health.”
Mustapha stressed that the Hadith used by these healers is a mandate for formal scientific research, not a license for unregulated commercialism.
He added: “There is a big difference between the existence of a cure in nature and the human knowledge of where that cure is.
“So, the tradition (Hadith) is an encouragement directed specifically at authorised medical researchers recognised by public health authorities to persist in scientific inquiry, but not a justification for individuals to claim they possess a cure that modern science has yet to verify.”
Aisha, who saw no improvement in her health after relying on the herbal remedies for two months, said her symptoms began to return, with her body growing weaker.
“I realised I had spent everything I owned on empty promises while the virus was multiplying inside me,” she said.
Now, she faces the added burden of paying out of pocket for consultations, routine viral load tests and clinic administration fees, expenses that used to be fully covered.
*Real name withheld to protect anonymity.
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“Globally, PEPFAR has invested over US$100 billion in the fight against HIV/AIDS since 2003, supporting antiretroviral treatment for more than 20 million people in over 50 countries. “
Almost $5 billion annually and in two decades these countries have not become self reliant....
Maybe they will reform their buggery behavior instead of just popping free pills.
This is what happens when a country depends upon another country to meet the medical, health, etc. needs, instead of taking care of their own people. Third world countries are disadvantaged because they are corrupt. Somehow, they need to fix that, and frankly, I don’t know how they can do that. We are truly blessed, despite our problems, to live in a country that was born with a dedication to God and the belief that we are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. There is no other country on Earth like us. God forgive us our shortcomings and continue to bless us.
the disease no one dies from. Fauci’s first scam.
He is truly forgiving, but He is definitely warning us right now.
Instead of seeking faith heelers, Nigerians should stop doing the things that cause AIDS. Seems simple, but is impossible for leftists to even imagine.
Almost $5 billion annually and in two decades these countries have not become self reliant....
Those countries are ruled by the most vicious, self-serving rulers. Those countries DO have resources but the despots take what they want and let the people suffer and die.
Nothing new there.
It's the same for all of sub-Sahara Africa and ALL of south of our border.
Also for MOST of Asia. No mercy there either.
The Chinese openly admit that females fetuses are automatic throw-aways. Nothing new there either.
Whenever I have even the TINIEST urge to complain about SOMEthing or SOMEone in our country I always recall how BLESSED we are.
Money is never the answer, is it?
One might think that tens of billions of dollars in US Aid could help limit spread of diseases.
One might also think that hundreds of millions of free condoms and abortion pills might stop the spread of social diseases.
You may also assume that tens of billions of US dollars have been wasted on a population that does not care about transmitted sexual diseases.
Biden brought them in by the millions with no medical screening. During COVID lockdown.
Hint: I’m not a fan of third-world refugees and I cannot speak my mind on this forum.
Perhaps a good way to allow Islamists to deplete their own numbers?
“””Nigerians turned to traditional healers marketing herbal ‘cures’ framed as Islamic medicine.””””
I thought the Islamic cure for homosexuals was death.
This is exactly what you would expect a practitioner of satanism to say. Christian belief that God creates only good and evil exists because of the original fall is turned on its head. Islam, Satanism, then becomes “the cure” and another human sacrifice is led off to the grave.
Are you saying no one dies from AIDS?
Yeah, say what? I worked on an AIDS ward in the 1980s. I’d like to think the poster was just confused and not an idiot.
It is VERY difficult. That's one reason that most Ukrainians, esp. most Ukrainians under age 50, wanted to join the EU, despite some significant other negatives. The EU's rules when enforced DO have an excellent suppressive effect on corruption, and, with Ukraine, unlike, say Turkey, the EU would have a decent chance of enforcing their rules enough to effect gradual change.
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Islamic medicine refers to the medical knowledge and practices developed in the Islamic world between the 7th and 16th centuries, shaped by scholars such as Al‑Razi, Ibn Sina, and Al‑Zahrawi, and supported by institutions like bimaristans (hospitals).
Overview
Islamic medicine emerged during the Islamic Golden Age (7th–16th centuries CE), integrating Greek, Persian, Indian, and earlier Middle Eastern medical traditions. It emphasized empirical observation, holistic care, and systematic medical education.
jbima.com
jbima.com
Key Features
1. Hospitals (Bimaristans)
Provided free, universal healthcare.
Included specialized wards, hygiene protocols, and medical record‑keeping.
Functioned as teaching hospitals for medical students.
jbima.com
jbima.com
2. Major Physicians and Their Contributions
Al‑Razi (Rhazes): Distinguished smallpox from measles; pioneered clinical pharmacology; emphasized physician accountability.
jbima.com
jbima.com
+1
Ibn Sina (Avicenna): Authored The Canon of Medicine, a foundational medical encyclopedia used in Europe for centuries; developed holistic treatment models integrating physical and psychological health.
jbima.com
jbima.com
+1
Al‑Zahrawi (Albucasis): Father of modern surgery; documented 200+ surgical instruments; advanced surgical techniques.
jbima.com
jbima.com
Ibn al‑Haytham: Pioneered experimental optics and theories of vision.
jbima.com
jbima.com
3. Pharmacology and Drug Testing
Systematic drug evaluation protocols (e.g., Ibn Sina’s seven‑stage method).
Extensive use of herbal medicines and compound formulations.
jbima.com
jbima.com
4. Ethics and Patient Care
Emphasis on patient welfare, consent (riḍā), and psychological well‑being.
Early frameworks resembling modern medical ethics.
jbima.com
jbima.com
5. Scientific Method and Empiricism
Use of clinical trials, controlled observations, and experimentation.
Preservation and expansion of classical medical knowledge.
jbima.com
jbima.com
Global Impact
Islamic medicine served as a bridge between ancient and modern medical traditions, influencing European medical education, hospital systems, and scientific methodology. Its legacy continues in contemporary holistic care models, pharmacology, and medical ethics.
jbima.com
jbima.com
+1
Islamic medicine remains a foundational chapter in the history of global healthcare, shaping modern medical practice through its innovations, ethics, and scientific rigor.
Actually...
That aside, I remember trying to explain AIDS to my then young daughter: I told her "It's kind of like the guard who drags a prisoner out to the execution ground and ties the prisoner to a post so the prisoner is helpless, but the guard himself doesn't shoot the prisoner."
100 billion dollars for 20 million people?
Every one of them should already have a lifetime supply of meds ... and a luxury condo.
CURE: JUST SAY NO.
Does the money really fund what they say it funds?
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