About 600,000 Nigerian men, women, and children (90 per cent of the people living with HIV/AIDs) are currently on HIV treatment, with more than 55,000 pregnant women being provided anti-retroviral drugs for the prevention of mother-to- child transmission of HIV, the U.S. Consul-General has said.
John Bray, who spoke during a 2016 World AIDS Day programme in Lagos on Monday, said 8.7 million people have received HIV counselling and testing, while 750,000 adults and children living with the HIV/AIDs have received care and support.
“I want to assure you of the U.S. government’s unwavering commitment in supporting partner countries to control their epidemics, and our focus on ensuring every dollar invested has the greatest impact for those in need,” Mr. Bray said.
The theme for this year’s World AIDS Day is ‘Leadership. Commitment. Impact.’
Mr. Bray said since its inception in 2004, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has disbursed more than 3.4 billion dollars to support Nigeria’s HIV/AIDS response.
As some of you may know, last week the Nigerian federal government launched a simplified version of its HIV Anti-discrimination Act to strengthen the Nigerian HIV response system which is geared towards stopping HIV related stigma by 2020 and eliminating the disease by 2030,” he said.
“The United States government’s commitment to ending the AIDS epidemic cannot be overstated. We invest with our voices, our capacity, and our dollars. PEPFAR is the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in history.
“Through PEPFAR, we are maximizing our impact by making smart investments to reach those most at risk and in need – preventing millions of new HIV infections and saving millions of lives. PEPFAR is using data to invest in evidence-based interventions in the geographic areas and populations with the greatest HIV/AIDS burden and accelerating country progress toward achieving epidemic control.”
