US to support Nigeria with $469m to combat HIV

⁠⁠The United States on Friday signed a $469 million dollars (about N147.5 billion) country operation plan (COP) to support HIV prevention, care and treatment programmes in Nigeria.

The COP was signed by Deborah Birx, the US global AIDS coordinator, and Sani Aliyu, director-general, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA).

According to Stuart Syminton, US ambassador to Nigeria, “Nigerian is working with the embassy and others are committed to changing Nigerian history for better”.

Birx said the COP was an annual programme plan for US government investments in the Nigeria National HIV/AIDS Response through the US  president’s emergency plan for AIDS relief (PEPFAR).

“US government commitment to the Nigeria COP 2017 is approximately 469 million dollars including centrally funded initiatives, to support HIV prevention, care and treatment programmes in the country,” Birk said.

“Since its inception in Nigeria in 2004, PEPFAR has disbursed more than 4.3 billion dollars in support of the Nigeria HIV/AIDS.”

She said the present US administration was committed to the issue of HIV/AIDS and also committed to the people and Nigerian government.

Birkx added that the authorities in Nigeria had been working to ensure that all Nigerians can thrive free of HIV/AIDS and be free of the disease.

She said the COP signing was important because it would help to give more understanding on how to control the pandemic by the year 2020.

Birx said the US was also committed to ensuring that HIV/AIDS was put under control in Nigeria by the year 2020.

“As a partner and the American people to the government and the people of Nigeria, our commitment is to really control this pandemic,” she said.

“I think Nigeria can go from the lowest number in West and Central Africa to the leadership position that it should be.”

Aliyu on his part expressed appreciation for the help rendered by the US government in fighting HIV/AIDS in the country.

He said the Nigerian government will work closely with that of the US to continue to advocate for greater resources.

“We are just about crossing the first million persons on treatment most of which is driven by US government that has put more than 700,000 on treatment,” Aliyu said.

“US is also committed to putting an addition 260,000 people on treatment that means that the US government is keeping alive hundreds of thousands of Nigerians. We are grateful for that, we are also appreciative of the confidence repose on us.

“We know our responsibility as government and we will make sure that we deliver on it.”