AHF seeks treatment for 30,000 AIDS patients by 2020

The Country Programme Manager, for Aids HealthCare Foundation, Dr. Adetayo Towolawi has said experts are working to ensure that 30,000 people are placed on Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) by 2020. Addressing  journalist at their Abuja office, he said the foundation aims to get  "cutting edge  medicine and advocacy regardless of ability to pay because either rich […]

The Country Programme Manager, for Aids HealthCare Foundation, Dr. Adetayo Towolawi has said experts are working to ensure that 30,000 people are placed on Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) by 2020.

Addressing  journalist at their Abuja office, he said the foundation aims to get  "cutting edge  medicine and advocacy regardless of ability to pay because either rich or poor HIV does not discriminate."

Dr. Towolawi said  there is a global call-to-action to place at least twenty million people  with HIV on life saving treatment between now and the year 2020 and to achieve this "We need to address the global testing gap, so that everybody who needs to be tested  get tested."

"In Nigeria we want to place 30,000 people on Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) by 2020 and we can achieve this by doing periodic mass testing and linking people to care." he said.

He added that testing  positive for HIV should not be seen as a death sentence as there are life saving treatment and care.

The Senior Manager, Public Relations and Advocacy, African Bureau, of AHF, Oluwakemi Gbadamosi said that "Nigeria Government need to do more in the fight against HIV."

Oluwakemi gave the instance of South Africa that runs the biggest antiretroviral (ARV) care in the world and it is largely dependent on government funding whereas Nigeria’s is largely dependent on donors.

"Nigeria has recently adopted the ‘test & treat’ policy but the issue is where will the money come from? For us to achieve eliminating aids in 2030, there is need to up the funding."  she said.