Daily Independent (Lagos)
Onche Odeh
2 December 2008
United States of America has earmarked $447 million as support to Nigeria's struggle to mitigate HIV/AIDS in the coming year.
The fund, to be released through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), is in addition to the $1 billion that has been committed to combat HIV/AIDS in Nigeria since 2004.
In a goodwill message at the 20th World AIDS Day celebration in Abuja, U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Renee Sanders, told the audience that the United States, as friend and partner of the people and government of Nigeria, are working together to fight for the care, treatment, and prevention of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.
"Just five years ago, only 50,000 people in all of sub-Saharan Africa living with HIV/AIDS were receiving treatment. As of the end of September however, in Nigeria alone, the government of Nigeria, in partnership with the U.S. Government, through the U.S. Mission in Nigeria, is supporting nearly 211,000 men, women, and children with treatment. Together, we have helped and reached two million people with HIV counselling and testing, and more than 640,000 pregnant women have received health services for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV," the U.S. Ambassador said.
Meanwhile, as most western governments are considering tightening their purse-strings in response to the global financial crisis, a Pan-African organisation called "Save the Children" has warned that any reduction in HIV and AIDS funding would put the life of more African children in jeopardy.
On the eve of the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) scheduled for Dakar, Senegal, between December 3 to 7, Save the Children is calling on both African governments and the international community to maintain their commitments to AIDS and children, despite the financial crisis.
In the face of turmoil in the global financial markets, there is a risk that foreign aid funding, including support for HIV and AIDS programs, will be less of a priority, as governments move to address financial issues close to home.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Daily Independent. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
