Nigeria's Ministry of Defense (MOD) said 94,000 HIV and AIDS cases were recorded in its 24 medical centers in the past five years, local media reported Thursday.
The Minister of State for Defense Fidelia Njeze disclosed this when a team of technical partners from the United States Department of Defense paid her a courtesy visit, the Punch reported.
The team led by the Deputy Commander, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, USA, Col. Donald Heppner.
The minister said that 7,000 out of the 94,000 cases reported were receiving treatment and counseling at the centers nationwide.
She noted that the collaboration between the USDOD and MOD on HIV programs had paid off for the country.
She said, "We owe a lot to the American government and the Walter Reed Institute for the level of commitment and the dedication you have shown to us in the area of HIV.|
"When the program started five years ago, we had four pioneer sites but now we have 14 functional sites, where patients are receiving counseling and treatment," she said. "We have also, through your help, trained some doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other scientists abroad."
Njeze said that the MOD had, through the program, mapped out plans to set up research laboratory sites at the Mogadishu Cantonment in Abuja and the Nigeria Air Force Hospital in Markurdi.
Source: Xinhua
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