Obanikoro says Nigerian Government commits to healthy nationality

The Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro has said that the Government of Nigeria is committed to the fight against HIV/AIDS scourge in Nigeria. He made the statement while addressing the Site/Team Commanders of the Nigerian Ministry of Defence / United States Department of Defense (NMOD-USDOD) HIV delegates conference at the Emergency Plan Implementation Committee (EPIC) Liaison Office, Abuja.

Musiliu Obanikoro commended the United States Government for partnering with Nigeria in the fight against HIV/AIDS tracing the commencement of the NMOD-USDOD programme to the era of President George W. Bush. He also said that Nigeria can overcome the problem of HIV/AIDS within the context of President Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda which also focuses on health. Adding, Government is fully committed to funding the project.

He advised the Armed Forces to extend the activities of the programme to civilians and lauded the efforts of O. S Njoku (Major Gen) who was a pioneer staff of the project.

Speaking earlier, the Ministry of Defence EPIC Chairman, T. O Umar (Major Gen) said that HIV/AIDS is a major public health issue and the virus is one of the leading causes of death in the Sub-Saharan Africa. He further noted that in 2005, the Nigerian and United States Governments established a partnership through the NMOD-USDOD HIV programme towards combating the spread of HIV/AIDS. The programme he said started with four sites and presently has forty-six sites. He added that the programme which engages in clinical research to combat HIV extends to other African countries.

According to him, the programme is working to achieve ownership and sustainability through counterpart funding from the Nigerian Government.
In a remark at the occasion, the Head of the USDOD Water Reed programme in Nigeria, Robbie Nelson said that Nigeria is not just a recipient of research findings, but a contributor and participant.