By Asmau Ahmad with NAN Report
Abuja Dec. 12, 2014; Dr Bilali Camara, UNAIDS Country Director, has said that Nigeria needs more domestic funding to effectively tackle HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country. Camara told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Friday in Abuja that some state governments had not shown enough commitment in the area of resource allocation to fight the disease. “There is lack of leadership at state level to address the issue in pragmatic way,” he said.
He said that since foreign donors like PEPFAR and Global Fund had cut short funding to fight the HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, efforts to tackle the disease in 29 states would be hampered.
He therefore urged the three tiers of government as well as the private sector to come up with resources for effective control of the disease.
Camara said the Presidential Comprehensive Response Plan (PCRP) for HIV/AIDS in Nigeria launched in 2013 by President Goodluck Jonathan had not being domesticated by some state governments. NAN recalls that PCRP is designed to respond to the system and service delivery challenges facing HIV/AIDS patients in Nigeria.
It also aims at availing 80 million men and women aged 15 years and above with knowledge of their HIV status and enroll 600,000 eligible adults and children on Anti-retroviral therapy. Camara stressed the need for a well-coordinated and effective management of the PCRP by state governments since majority of HIV/AIDS reside in the states.
