Professor Isaac Adewole, Nigeria’s Health minister

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for launching a new plan that would speed up HIV treatment and prevention in Nigeria.

A statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by Mr Charles-Martin Jjuuko, Communications and Global Outreach Officer, UNAIDS Nigeria, said the documents were launched in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Prof. Isaac Adewole, Minister of Health represented President Buhari at the occasion, to commemorate the 2016 World AIDS Day.

At the occasion, Buhari unveiled two strategic documents to boost national response to HIV/AIDS, improvement of HIV care and services, and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria by 2030.

The documents are the National HIV Guidelines, Prevention, Treatment and Care 2016, and Fast tracking HIV and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) Treatment in Nigeria

Jjuuko said the documents would help to quickly put 500,000 more people living with HIV on treatment and get Nigeria back on track to achieve the 90-90-90 treatment target.

He added that the plan would also support the testing of three million more pregnant women for HIV, and treat the 75,000 who will be newly diagnosed.

According to Jjuuko, UNAIDS welcomes the urgency to fast track treatment and the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV, as was boldly expressed by Prof. Adewole in his speech.

(NAN)