Nigeria Commits $10M To Friends Of The Global Fund Africa

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday announced a $10 million donation to the Friends of the Global Fund Africa to help combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria on the continent, Nigeria's This Day reports. Speaking in Kigali, Rwanda, at the inauguration of the Friends Africa board, Obasanjo said that although the government has launched initiatives to reduce HIV prevalence in Nigeria, more efforts are needed to combat the three diseases (Ogbonnaya, This Day, 2/13). Obasanjo also said that if the spread of the diseases is not brought under control, they "have the potential to damage our social fabric; diminish agricultural and industrial production; undermine political, social and economic stability; and contribute to national, regional and global insecurity." He also called on the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and other aid agencies to "intensify" their "already commendable level of assistance to fight against these diseases, which threaten to circumscribe our progress and prosperity" (Nigeria First, 2/13).

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