The outbreak of Covid19 has been blamed for the death of some 430,000 HIV/AIDS patients in sub-Saharan Africa over the past six months, owing to interruptions in treatment due to pandemic’s related restrictions.

That’s according to a new report published on Wednesday.

Citing statistics from UNAIDS, Nigeria’s National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) said the rise in deaths of HIV/AIDS patients was due to a decline in anti-retroviral therapy during the virus lockdown, Nigeria’s This Day newspaper reported.

At a news conference in the capital Abuja, Gambo Gumel Aliyu, the head of NACA, said there are currently 1.8 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the country.

Imoh Edet reports.