U. S. pledges support for people living with HIV, empowers 734,000
TUnited States Centre for Disease Control ( USCDC) has expressed its commitment to work with deserving communities by implementing partners and communitybased organisations to provide services that will improve the well- being and longevity of people living with or affected by human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV) / AIDS in Nigeria. About 734,000 people living with or affected by HIV across 19 states have benefitted from the Orphans and Vulnerable Children ( OVC) interventions funded by the U. S. government under the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief ( PEPFAR) in support of the Nigerian government to mitigate the scourge of HIV/ AIDS on the vulnerable household.
CDC- Nigeria programmes for children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/ AIDS contributes to the achievement of an AIDS- free generation by responding to the social ( including economic) and emotional consequences of the disease on children, their families, and communities that support them. The OVC Programme Specialist, CDC Nigeria, Dr Femi Oke, who disclosed this at a CDC Nigeria Media Roundtable in Abuja, said that the household economic strengthening is a portfolio of interventions delivered to reduce the economic vulnerability of families and empower them to provide for the essential needs of the children they care for, rather than relying on external assistance.
He noted that the US CDC Orphans and Vulnerable Children Programme will deliver child- focused, family- centered interventions that seek to improve the overall well- being and mitigate the impact of HIV on children and families.
According to him, the programme utilises a case management approach, which involves working in partnership with children and families to identify their needs, plan, and complete a series of actions with the orphans, as well as vulnerable children, and their caregivers to achieve specific household goals.
He stated that financial literacy training bequeathed on beneficiaries now helps the vulnerable households understand money management, income generation and meet emergency needs and take care of their children without depending on external assistance.
“Village savings and loans association groups diversified into other local businesses and some of them are now fully registered as cooperative and thrift society,” he added.
Also speaking, USCDC Branch Chief of the Continuum of Care and Treatment, Dr Denis Onotu, observed that the OVC programme, which has been efficient and impactful, targets the most vulnerable beneficiaries including children and women.
He noted that the OVC programme, which is largely community focused, has been able to unite, sustain and bring hope to thousands of families affected by HIV and AIDS.
Onotu explained that the OVC programme is one of the HIV/ AIDS programmes funded by US Government under the President Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief ( PEPFAR) in support of the Government of Nigeria to mitigate the scourge of HIV/ AIDS on vulnerable households.
A beneficiary of the programme, Maria Anthony, said that the programme has transformed their socio- economic status and improved their overall well- being as most beneficiaries are now able to meet the health and financial needs of their families and save for the future.
Another beneficiary, Mrs Esther Terna, who thanked the USCDC for introducing the Village Savings and Loans Association, noted that apart from helping her to start another line of business, the association helped her to put her daughter back to school.
DC- Nigeria collaborates with relevant government ministries, departments and agencies ( especially the Federal and State Ministries of Women Affairs and Social Development), implementing partners and other stakeholders to deliver OVC programme services.