Over 1.2 million Nigerians are currently receiving treatment for HIV/AIDS, according to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in Nigeria
The Communication Specialist, US CDC Nigeria, Halilu Usman disclosed this in Abeokuta.
Usman was 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, Usman added, is also supporting the Nigerian government by offering HIV/AIDs prevention and testing services as well as treatment support.
He said, “the agency tested five million Nigerians in 2020 and found 200,000 HIV positive people.
Read Also: NCDC DG Ihekweazu gets WHO job, resumes 1st November
“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.
Speaking virtually at the workshop, the Country Director, US Department of Defense’s Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Dr. Laura Chittenden says malaria eradication should not be neglected, disclosing that the institute has supported efforts to combat malaria in Nigeria.
Discover more from LN247
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
