Nigeria, Clinton Foundation Sign Deal To Fight AIDS
Julie Farby - All Headline News Staff Writer Abuja, Nigeria (AHN)-An AIDS charity set up by former U.S. President Bill Clinton signed a deal with Nigeria on Monday to make cheap AIDS drugs available to fight the disease in Africa's most populous nation. Clinton, who witnessed the signing, tells Reuters that testing for HIV/AIDS was crucial to curbing the infection rate in Nigeria, where about 3 million people are living with the virus, saying, "It is because 90 percent of people who are infected do not know their HIV status ... that is why it is spreading in Africa." Meanwhile, Nigeria says the agreement would help expand access to treatment for children, and raise funds to fight AIDS in Nigeria, which has the third highest case load in the world after South Africa and India. Nigeria has about 74 treatment centers where it gives out free AIDS drugs to about 40,000 patients, with plans to expand the therapy to more of those who cannot afford it. However, after Nigeria failed to meet targets on drug access and transparency in handling AIDS donations, its major donor, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, suspended about $50 million in assistance in April. The Global Fund suspended two five-year grants to Nigeria after just two years because of low numbers of people on treatment and concerns over data accuracy.
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