LAGOS, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Joint UN Program on AIDS (UNAIDS) for the establishment of Africa Center for AIDS Management in the west African country, a government official said on Sunday.

    "This is the first on the continent, and with its establishment, we will be more focused in tackling the HIV pandemic," said Babatunde Osotimehin, chairman of National Action Committee on AIDS.

    Osotimehin told the News Agency of Nigeria that the center would serve as a think tank.

    He said the action is a spin-off from the concept of Universal Access, a global partnership established by UN member states in 2001, to place countries more firmly in command of their development programs, especially in combating HIV/AIDS.

    "The whole concept is to ensure that all Nigerians are able to access information, skills, services, commodities, care and support by 2010," Osotimehin said.

    "At present, we have been able to provide information on behavior change and we have started well by treating 50,000 people living with HIV/AIDS but we need to treat 500,000 in that category," he added.

    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, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo pledged to provide free anti-retroviral treatment for the sufferers from 2006. Enditem