UN lauds Buhari over medicines for HIV patients

The United Nations Joint Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) and the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) have praised President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to provide Anti Retroviral drugs (ARVs) for 50,000 additional people living with HIV each year.

Nigeria’s commitment was announced in a speech by the president at the recently concluded high-level side event convened by the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, in collaboration with UNAIDS, during the 72nd United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States of America.

The side event was meant to accelerate action and get countries on the Fast Track to end AIDS by 2030.

NACA yesterday quoted President Buhari in a statement read on his behalf by the Director General of NACA, Dr Sani Aliyu, as saying: “We recognise the impact of the global financing environment and the need for shared responsibility in order to end AIDS in Nigeria by 2030.

“Thus, we have committed to increased domestic resourcing of the AIDS response. In the light of this, the Government of Nigeria is committed to maintain the current 60,000 plus clients on life saving medicines and an additional 50,000 new clients per year.”

Buhari also announced that Nigeria had already put more than one million people living with HIV on treatment.

The statement said a new national HIV survey, a Trust Fund and support for local manufacture of ARVs was also in the pipeline.