L
LequteMan
Guest
President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday in Abuja said African Union member states had resolved to eliminate HIV and AIDS in the continent by 2030.
He said the continued spread of the virus was indeed a threat to the achievement of the transformation agenda and the aspirations for sustainable development.
“The Federal Government will continue to remain committed to the fight against HIV and AIDS in Nigeria.
“To this effect, HIV and AIDS services shall remain free in all Federal Government hospitals, including testing, treatment and prevention of mother-to-child transmission,’’ Jonathan said.
He said that the government had taken bold steps to meet the universal access targets and the commitment toward achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG) goal six- which is to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases- by 2015.
Jonathan said he had directed the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) to formulate a strategy to cover the existing gaps in the national HIV and AIDS response.
He said that the plan would provide HIV testing for 40 million Nigerians and treatment for more than one million positive persons requiring treatment.
Jonathan added that the plan would provide prevention of mother-to-child transmission services for 250, 000 positive pregnant women.
“The cost of implementing this plan is huge and will not be borne by the Federal Government alone.” He said.
Prof. John Idoko, the Director-General of NACA, said that the country was making progress in the fight against HIV as the epidemic was being stabilised.
He said the continued spread of the virus was indeed a threat to the achievement of the transformation agenda and the aspirations for sustainable development.
“The Federal Government will continue to remain committed to the fight against HIV and AIDS in Nigeria.
“To this effect, HIV and AIDS services shall remain free in all Federal Government hospitals, including testing, treatment and prevention of mother-to-child transmission,’’ Jonathan said.
He said that the government had taken bold steps to meet the universal access targets and the commitment toward achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG) goal six- which is to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases- by 2015.
Jonathan said he had directed the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) to formulate a strategy to cover the existing gaps in the national HIV and AIDS response.
He said that the plan would provide HIV testing for 40 million Nigerians and treatment for more than one million positive persons requiring treatment.
Jonathan added that the plan would provide prevention of mother-to-child transmission services for 250, 000 positive pregnant women.
“The cost of implementing this plan is huge and will not be borne by the Federal Government alone.” He said.
Prof. John Idoko, the Director-General of NACA, said that the country was making progress in the fight against HIV as the epidemic was being stabilised.