NIGERIA: No drug plan for HIV-positive children

An AIDS NGO in Nigeria has expressed concern over the lack of treatment for the country's children living with HIV/AIDS.

The Positive Life Association of Nigeria (PLAN) said the children were not benefiting from a government-subsidised programme that made antiretroviral drugs available to adults who needed them.

Under the programme, HIV/AIDS drugs are administered to some 10,000 adults at subsidised rates of less than US $10 per month. Unsubsidised drugs currently cost around $500 per month.

PLAN chairman Oba Oladapo, said more children were dying as a result of the government's delay in implementing an HIV/AIDS treatment plan specifically for children.

The global news agency Inter Press Service, quoted Oladapo as saying: "Infected children have a right to life, just as their adult counterparts."

Theme (s): Care/Treatment - PlusNews, Children,

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]