CHEVRON Nigeria Limited, CNL, an affiliate of Chevron Corporation, has donated  $2.5 million to the Global Fund to fight AIDS,tuberculosis and malaria for the implementation of the Chevron-Global Fund Anti-Retroviral Treatment Service Maintenance Programme (ART Programme), in Delta, Bayelsa, Ondo and Lagos states. In 2018, a final instalment of $2.5 million will be disbursed to support the HIV programmes, amounting to a total contribution of $5 million by Chevron, the oil company said in a statement, weekend.

The funds are in addition to $6.7 million earlier donated by the firm to the Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV, PMTCT, in Bayelsa State. “The ART Programme will help bridge a critical national health gap and continue Chevron’s work in achieving an AIDS-free generation. The programme will help reduce new HIV infections and improve the quality of life for people living with HIV and other affected people in the communities of the targeted states. Additionally, it will provide Nigerians with universal access to high-quality, patient-centered prevention, diagnosis and treatment services for tuberculosis, HIV and drug-resistant tuberculosis by 2020,” Esimaje Brikinn, the General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, CNL, said. The disbursements are part of a nine-year, $60 million commitment from Chevron to the Global Fund. The Global Fund raises and invests nearly $4 billion a year to support programs run by local experts to fight the three diseases in countries and communities most in need. The Global Fund is one of the world’s largest international financier of health care programmes fighting these three diseases. According to Mr. Brikinn: “Chevron has learned through decades of experience that our success is tied to the health and prosperity of the communities where we operate. Chevron’s social investments are developed through a participatory process and through partnerships not only with the communities who are living in proximity to our operations, but also with other stakeholders who share interests in common with our business (e.g., government, non-governmental organizations [NGOs], non-profits, development agencies, etc.).” The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole thanked Chevron for the gesture, saying: “We are happy about what Chevron is doing to support government’s efforts in the fight of HIV and other diseases in Nigeria. That is what we have been advocating; that the private sector should show concern about public health issues.”

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