20 October: Nigeria has been named the third country in the world, after South Africa and India, with the highest number of people living with the dreaded diseases, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
This disclosure was made Thursday in Abuja by the Country Director of the UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Mr. Pierre MPele. He cautioned that Nigeria and other African countries would be left behind in regards to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs – 2015 Målene), except stakeholders and government work together seriously to meet the goals.
In the words of MPele, “Nigeria is the third most infested state in the world after South Africa and India. There are over four million Nigerians living with HIV/AIDS and in 2005, over 300.000 Nigerians died of HIV/AIDS related illnesses. In Nigeria, there are over one million orphans whose parents died due to HIV/AIDS scourge (svøbe)”.
The Resident UN Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Alberic Kacou, asserted that Nigeria was critical to Africas capacity to meet the MDGs.
– In fact, Africa cannot meet the goals without Nigeria. The reason for this is simple. One, Nigeria is Africas most populous country, with at least one in five Africans being Nigerian. Two, 54,4 percent of Nigerians living in poverty represents a staggering figure not only for the country, but also for the continent, he said.
He added: – We have just eight years left (to meet the MDGs) and it is a challenge for all to ensure we meet the goals before 2015. I think we need to be serious and work together in order to achieve these goals to reduce poverty.
Kilder: This Day (Nigeria) og The Push Journal
