Country Director of UNAIDS, Mr Bilali Camara, Friday said 3.4million Nigerians are living with HIV/AIDS virus in Nigeria and in 2014 alone 60,000 children were infected. Camara made this disclosure during a courtesy visit to the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila.
He also advised the Nigerian government to encourage pharmaceutical companies to produce retroviral drugs locally rather than relying on imported ones. On the number of those infected he explained that of the total number, 60 thousand are children who suffer from the scourge through mother-to-child transmission or contaminated blood, 124thousand were affected in total.
He said the trend has put Nigeria on the scale of nations that need to do more to curb the scourge of HIV/Aids, adding that it’s the duty of interventionist agencies like the UN to alert nations on the need for more effective actions aimed at curbing the menace.
“We as Africans have a responsibility to take up the global initiative on Aids for the benefit of our people. Domestic resources have proved inadequate to match the global drive for eradication of the disease.
“We must make sure that investment coming from outside is matched with what we are making inside as Africans”, he said.
Mr. Camara also re-echoed the resolve expressed by President Buhari before world leaders that all Nigeria and Africa need is global assistance against corruption to enable it stand and fight alone to curb other social malaise plaguing it.
The House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila in his response expressed dismay at the magnitude of the scourge with regards to the figures reeled out, saying that HIV/Aids has clearly become a human right issue that requires more commitment from all stakeholders. (Vanguard Ngr)