Jonathan made the promise at a meeting he held with stakeholders to review the President’s Emergency Response Plan for HIV/AIDS in Nigeria 2013-2015, held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
“From today as the President of this country, I don’t want any Nigerian to henceforth die of HIV. The objective may not be achieved today or tomorrow but we shall be working towards achieving it from today. State governors too must ensure that nobody dies of HIV/AIDS in their states,” the President said.
The Presidential pledge came just as the Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Prof. John Idoko, disclosed that Nigeria carried the second largest HIV burden globally with 3.4 million people living with HIV in the country.
Idoko said the situation was frightening. He added that Nigeria was also behind target in several important indicators, including the fact that only one out of three people living with the disease are being treated.
But Jonathan said he would not fold his arms while the ugly situation continued, adding that the efforts so far being put into fighting the scourge seemed to be efforts in wrong directions.
He observed that the situation deteriorated despite the huge resources being committed into fighting the scourge because the country lacked a comprehensive plan to stem the tide.
The President said his government would not continue to spend money without assessing the corresponding progress being made.
Stressing the need for a concrete plan, the President said governments at all levels must be able to say the amount needed monthly and per annum, the amount expected from development partners and the quantity of antiretroviral drugs needed, among others.
Jonathan said, “It appears as a nation, we are spending a lot on HIV, the Federal Government, states and development partners.states, but there is no proper collaboration.
Jonathan said he would ensure that the meeting marked the beginning of a different approach to the management of HIV in the country.
Idoko said for the new initiative to get Nigeria to attain universal access targets of 80 per cent access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care services would gulp a whopping N377.5bn.
Out of the sum, the NACA boss said N198.5bn was expected to be sourced from external donors while domestic contribution would account for N179bn.
Of the N179bn to be sourced locally, he said the Federal Government will provide N110.2bn; state governments will be responsible for N52.3bn while the private sector will contribute N16.5bn.
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