NIGERIA: Clinton steps in to boost treatment efforts

Former US president Bill Clinton has agreed to help facilitate the supply of affordable anti-AIDS drugs and HIV diagnostic equipment to Nigeria.

Under the terms of an agreement signed by Nigerian Minister of Health Eyitayo Lambo and Ira Magaziner, chairman of the Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS Initiative, assistance would also be given in expanding access to paediatric AIDS care and treatment.

Clinton's offer comes just months after the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria suspended some US$50 million in funding to Nigeria, after the government's lack of transparency in AIDS spending and failing to meet targets for drug access.

An estimated six million of Nigeria's 120 million people are HIV-positive, with only 30,000 patients receiving antiretrovirals through the public sector.

Theme (s): Care/Treatment - PlusNews,

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