No fewer than 45,000 persons living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria died in 2019, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said on Tuesday.
Fiona Braka, a representative of the UN agency, made this known at a press conference ahead of the 2020 World AIDS Day organised by the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA).
She said the death rate is “unacceptable”.
“This is unacceptable as it’s happening in an era where government, donors and partners have successfully made life-saving medication and commodities available,” she said.
The World AIDS Day is celebrated December 1 every year to honour the people who have fallen to the disease as well as people living with HIV.
It is also celebrated to raise awareness of the disease and the need for people to know their status.
The theme for this year’s World AIDS Day is ‘Global solidarity, Shared responsibility’.