CEDPA Fights AIDS in Nigeria

The U.S. Agency for International Development awarded CEDPA $12.8 million to improve care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, which has the third largest number of HIV infections in the world. CEDPA has worked successfully in Nigeria and globally to mobilize communities to slow the spread of HIV and promote equal care and treatment for women and their families infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

The Positive Living project, funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through USAID/Nigeria, will improve the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS, their families and communities through expanded community-level access to quality HIV prevention, care and support services.

Nigeria has the third largest number of HIV infections in the world, with almost 3 million men, women and children living with HIV according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. Because of poor health infrastructure, there is an enormous need to expand care and treatment services for people living with HIV and AIDS.

To address these needs, CEDPA will lead the Positive Living project in Nigeria working hand-in-hand with a consortium of local faith-based organizations, community groups and networks of people living with HIVAIDS. Project activities will include HIV prevention, awareness and stigma-reduction efforts; expanded palliative and home-based care; and training and technical assistance. A key focus is to strengthen the capacity of Nigerian organizations to provide comprehensive, community-based services to people living with HIV/AIDS.

Founded in 1975, CEDPA is an internationally recognized non-profit organization that improves the lives of women and girls in developing countries. CEDPA’s global programs increase educational opportunities for girls, ensure access to lifesaving reproductive health and HIV/AIDS information and services, and strengthen women’s leadership in their nations. Headquartered in Washington, DC, CEDPA has offices in Egypt, India, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa, and more than 5,000 alumni and partners in over 150 countries worldwide.

CEDPA’s global HIV/AIDS programs mobilize communities to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS and promote equal care and treatment for women and their families. In Nigeria, where faith communities are critical to the delivery of health services, CEDPA has partnered with local faith-based organizations and religious leaders to promote HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment, and reduce stigma against people living with AIDS. In Egypt and Nepal, CEDPA’s non-formal education programs for adolescents have included HIV prevention messages developed in close collaboration with parents and community partners. Elsewhere, the organization has implemented successful strategies that protect orphans and vulnerable children, engaged youth, and elevated the importance of HIV/AIDS as a part of safe motherhood campaigns.

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