Institute of Human Virology Nigeria Program Receives $43M PEPFAR Grant
The Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland's School of Medicine has received a $43 million grant from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to expand HIV/AIDS treatment and care services in Nigeria, the AP/Washington Examiner reports. The grant will go to the institute's AIDS Care and Treatment in Nigeria, or ACTION, program, which was formed in 2003. ACTION links members of the institute's medical team with Nigerian counterparts to involve communities in HIV/AIDS treatment and care. The money will be used to provide 48,000 people in Nigeria with treatment and expand HIV testing and counseling to an additional 100,000 people, according to an institute release. ACTION has provided thousands of people in Nigeria with treatment and thousands of pregnant women with HIV prevention services, according to the AP/Examiner. "The work being done now in Nigeria is extraordinary," Robert Gallo, founder and director of the institute, said, adding, "This new award enables us to reach even more people who need the care and treatment provided by our institute's experts" (AP/Washington Examiner, 7/9).
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