AIDS treatment makes strides despite past hurdles

Nigeria said on Tuesday that the number of HIV-positive people receiving free anti-AIDS drugs has risen five-fold over the past three years to 50,000. According to Babatunde Osotimehin, chairman of the National Action Committee Against AIDS (NACA), plans to achieve a treatment target of 250,000 by next year were on course, although the necessary funds were still not in place. Reuters quoted Osotimehin as saying: "We are optimistic of achieving that target - we are already working with our partners and also reaching out to raise more resources to meet the deadline." Nigeria's national antiretroviral rollout programme was nearly crippled by funding problems last year, but was resuscitated by donor support from the US, the Global AIDS Fund and the private sector.