Nigeria Sets Up $149 Million Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS
Nigeria on Tuesday launched a 62 billion naira ($149 million) fund to help fight HIV/AIDS, especially targeting the prevention of mother-to-child transmissions as foreign funding for such programmes was under strain due to focus on COVID-19.
Some two million Nigerians live with HIV/AIDS, while more than 22,000 mother-to-child transmission cases are reported annually, official data shows.
The HIV Trust Fund of Nigeria is being spearheaded by the country’s national AIDS agency and local businesses.
“Ending AIDS as a public health threat in Nigeria will require increased domestic funding,” President Muhammadu Buhari said at the launch of the fund also attended by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote.
Source: Reuters (link opens in a new window)
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