About 3.4 million Nigerians are presently living with the HIV-AIDS virus, says the UNAIDS. The figure includes about 60,000 children infected in 2014.
UNAIDS Country Director for Nigeria, Mr Bitali Camara reeled out the figures in Abuja on Friday during a courtesy visit to House of Representatives Majority Leader, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila.
He said that most of the children were infected through mother to child transmission and infected blood.
Mr Camara advised the Federal Government to encourage pharmaceutical companies to produce anti retro viral drugs locally since Nigeria is now on the scale of countries that need to do more to curb the HIV-AIDS menace. He said,
“We as Africans have a responsibility to take up the global initiative on Aids for the benefit of our people. Domestic resources have proved inadequate to match the global drive for eradication of the disease.
“We must make sure that investment coming from outside is matched with what we are making inside as Africans."
Responding, a worried Hon Gbajabiamila called on all stakeholders to do more.
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