1.9 million people living with HIV in Nigeria have access to free treatments to save their lives and allow them to live healthy productive lives.
Nigeria Country Director of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC), Dr Mary Boyd disclosed this at the opening of a 2-day CDC Biannual Program Performance Review Meeting and Symposium in Abuja with the theme: “Working Together to Bring Nigeria Closer to HIV Epidemic Control.
She said “one of the things that I particularly appreciate about the HIV surge treatment is, it’s been about both attaining quality so the individual client as much as it has been about accelerating treatment coverage.
According to her: “Today 1.9 million people living with HIV have access to free treatments, and it’s treatment that is going to save their lives and allow them to live healthy, productive lives.
“And along the way, we’ve had champions, and those champions are sitting here and also in the audience. So I want to just appreciate you all, I want to welcome the CEOs of our implementing partners, I call them the superheroes.”
In his keynote address, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire said Nigeria has enjoyed the goodwill and generosity of the United States government through PEPFAR and has recorded remarkable progress with the reduction of the burden of HIV and contributing remarkably to the 1.9 million Nigerians who are life-saving antiretroviral treatment.
Represented by the National Coordinator of NASCA, Dr Akudo Ikpeazu, the Minister said Nigeria has recommitted to work with its partners to drive actions towards achievement of the 2025 global HIV targets and to keep Nigeria on track to ending AIDS by 2030.
