UN General Assembly
2002

especially in Africa where the pandemic is threatening to wipe out entire generations. For example, it is estimated that out of the 36 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, 75 per cent of them are in sub- Saharan Africa. The consequent toll on the human and material resources of one of the most impoverished regions of the world cannot be overemphasized. Not only is the productive population of Africa being systematically decimated by HIV/AIDS, but efforts to combat this and other diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, are also diverting scarce resources away from development programmes and projects. Massive assistance is therefore required from the international community to complement the efforts of individual countries. Nigeria will spare no effort to combat these scourges. While we are fully aware of the insidious nature of all of these pestilences, the spread of HIV/ AIDS constitutes by far our greatest source of concern. For that reason, Nigeria is active in contribution to and management of the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS. We have also established a national agency for