People Living With HIV/AIDS Protest Non-passage Of Anti-discrimination Bill

ABUJA—HIV/AIDS patients,under the aegis of  Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria, have protested to the National Assembly, asking the lawmakers to pass the HIV/AIDS Anti-Discrimination bill into law.

Speaking during the protest, National Coordinator of the group, Mr Edward Ogenyi, lamented that of the 1.2 million Nigerians that required HIV medication (antiretroviral drug), only 491,000 were currently receiving treatment, leaving a huge gap of over 60 percent.


He noted that 3.1 million Nigerians were living with HIV/AIDS, while over 2.5 million children had been orphaned and made vulnerable due to increasing HIV/AIDS morbidity, including violation of patients’ fundamental human rights, such as the right to live, work and own property.

According to him, the plight of  persons living with HIV/AIDS has not compelled senators and members of the House of Representatives to see the need to pass the HIV/AIDS Anti-Discrimination Bill into law as a priority.

He said: “We recognized there is competing interest, but it should be noted that AIDS have killed more people than all the wars and national catastrophes put together.

“AIDS related stigmatization and discrimination remain a big challenge threatening the fight against AIDS epidemic and the achievement of Millennium Development Goals in Nigeria .

“It is a pity that leadership in Nigeria has become experts in playing host to political declaration on HIV/AIDS but amateur in the implementation of such declarations. Nigeria is the only country in West African that does not have HIV/AIDS Anti-Discrimination law.”

Addressing the protesters, Senator Wilson Ake, who represented the Senate President, David Mark, lamented the problems Nigeria was undergoing.

Mark, who was represented by Senator Wilson Ake, said: “We must understand that we have a problem in this country and the problem is ignorance because having HIV/AIDS is the same thing as having malaria and measles.

“Nobody is against the law, so there is need for urgent implementation of the bill to pass into law. We are all Nigerians and I promise you that I will take this message to the National Assembly and we will deliberate on it from now upwards, it is going to be listed among the things to be discussed.”

Source: Vanguard