Over 300 HIV Patients Protest Over Alleged Neglect In Abuja

There was pandemonium at the headquarters of the
National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS in Abuja on
Monday as about 300 protesters under the aegis of Network
of People Living with HIV/AIDS shut down the agency's
premises over alleged neglect.
They also premised their action on miserable conditions,
inability to access antiretroviral drugs and the ongoing
withdrawal of funding support to HIV/AIDS by external
funding partners.
The protesters, including young men and women carrying
children, specifically accused NACA of failing to implement
the Presidential Comprehensive Response Plan inaugurated
by President Goodluck Jonathan to bridge the existing
treatment access gaps.
The Federal Government had appropriated N8bn for the
PCRC, out of the estimated N140bn. It was, however, learnt
that only 20 per cent of the funds had been released.
As early as 6.30am, the protesters besieged NACA office with
different anti-government inscriptions, tied palm fronds on
their mouths and every part of their body, indicating their
loss of confidence in NACA's inability to fast track the
implementation of the PCRP which was inaugurated by
Jonathan late last year and scheduled to end by the end of




.