HIV/AIDS: 1.2m Nigerians receiving treatment – CDC
The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Nigeria says there are currently over 1.2 million Nigerians receiving treatment for HIV/AIDS.
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This was disclosed by the Communication Specialist, US CDC Nigeria, Halilu Usman, while speaking with journalists during a two-day Investigative Health Care Reporting workshop organised by the International Press Centre, Nigeria.
The IPC is a leading media development and press freedom organisation dedicated to building media capacities for democracy and development.
Speaking virtually at the workshop, Usman said the US CDC Nigeria “is supporting children living with HIV or dying from HIV related diseases by providing free medications.”
” The Centre, is also supporting the Nigerian government by offering HIV/AIDs prevention and testing services as well as treatment support,” he said
He said, “the agency tested five million Nigerians in 2020 and found 200,000 HIV positive people.
“The 200,000 people who tested positive have been put on life-saving treatment with the support from the centre.”
Also speaking at the workshop, the executive director of IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade urged journalists not to neglect other important health issues because of the global focus on COVID-19.
Arogundade who made a presentation based on a study on Media Report of Health-Related Issues conducted in December 2020, said health journalists should look beyond COVID-19 and focus on accountability, transparency issues in the health sector.
MTO/Punch
