Fred Ezeh, Abuja

The Federal Government has taken up the treatment burden of an additional 50,000 HIV/AIDS patients in Nigeria, bringing the total of patients being treated to 100,000.

N2.5 billion has also been approved for procurement of drugs and other necessities for the patients.

A 2018 Report by United Nations AIDS (UNAIDS) indicated that Nigeria accounts for more than half of all new infections and deaths from AIDS related illness.

The Director General, National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA), Dr Gambo Aliyu, disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday at a press conference to herald commemorative activities for the 2019 World Aids Day, with the theme ‘Communities Make The Difference’.

He said that NACA has taken proactive measures to reach out to people with the campaign messages by establishing six new zonal offices across Nigeria.

He reiterated the importance of community participation in the national response to HIV and demanded that they continue to support NACA and its partners in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

He insisted that the cure for HIV/AIDS has not been found and strongly encouraged Nigerians to ignore the claim by one Dr Jeremiah Abalaka that he has the cure for the disease.

“When Dr Jeremiah Abalaka’s treatment started a few years ago, we handed over 30 HIV patients to him to treat. 29 of the patients died of complications from the treatment. Only one of the patients handed over to him survived. That’s enough proof to show that his claims are untrue,” Dr Aliyu explained.

National Coordinator, Network of People Living With HlV/AIDS in Nigeria, (NEPWHAN), Abdulkadir Ibrahim, in his remarks, urged government to prioritise key and vulnerable populations who are disproportionately impacted by the HIV epidemic.

“Our goal should be to situate human rights at the centre of interventions to achieve zero new infections, zero AlDS related deaths and zero discrimination, and also leave no one behind as we work to end AIDS as public health threat by 2030,” he stated.

The HlV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) 2018 report revealed that 1.9 million people are living with HIV in Nigeria. Of the number, about one million patients are receiving HIV treatment.

Of those receiving treatment, 42.3 percent have achieved viral suppression, leaving a huge gap of 57.7 percent yet to achieve viral suppression.