Nigeria will provide anti-retroviral drugs for at least 250,000 persons living with HIV/AIDS by June as directed by President Olusegun Obasanjo, a health official announced on Monday.

Ibrahim Talba, permanent secretary of the health ministry told a meeting in the eastern city of Jalingo that the ministry has restructured the National Program on Immunization to ensure that it meets its target for the year.

 He said the two goals of providing drugs for HIV/AIDS patients and meeting the immunization target as directed by the president would be achieved this year.

"Our political masters will be going out to tell the people about their achievements in health care delivery, so this year is crucial," the official News Agency of Nigeria quoted Talba as saying.

With more than 3.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS, Nigeria today ranked third in the world, with children and young people being the most affected. Last December, Obasanjo pledged to provide free anti-retroviral treatment for the sufferers from 2006.

Story culled from Xinhuanet