BY PETER DURU

MAKURDI – The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has disclosed that  over 103,080 Nigeria children require and live on anti-retroviral drugs to stay alive as a result of their HIV status.

The world body revealed that, out of six million annual new births in Nigeria, over 56, 681 are  HIV positive.

This was made known by HIV/AIDS specialist at the UNICEF ‘A’ Field Office, Dr. Femi Adeyemi, at a three day Zonal Networking Meeting for Media Practitioners on Public Advocacy and Alliance Building for Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV, held in Makurdi.

Dr. Adeyemi, who took an overview and update on prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV in the country, lamented that, of the 2.9 million HIV prevelence rate in the country, 1.7million were women.

He noted that “at the moment the annual figure of pregnant women who are living with HIV/AIDS in the country is about 56,681.”

While taking a state by state assessment of the HIV/AIDS prevelence rate in the country, he stresed that the figure ranges from one per cent in Kebbi State, which he said was the lowest in the country, to 12.7 per cent in Benue, which  represents in the highest in the country.