Nigeria

Alliance linking organisation: Network on Ethics, Human Rights, Law, HIV/AIDS Prevention, Support and Care (NELA)

Although Nigeria's prevalence rate is lower than those of neighbouring countries, it has the largest number of HIV-positive adults in the world after India and South Africa. Out of a population of 126 million, there are an estimated 3.6 million people living with HIV/AIDS (5.4% of adults) and more than 1.8 million children orphaned by AIDS. According to WHO estimates, between 28,000 and 48,000 people are currently receiving anti-retroviral treatment, leaving close to 600,000 Nigerians in need of treatment .

The factors contributing to HIV infection in Nigeria include high population mobility, the trafficking of young girls, marriage practices such as polygamy, poverty, poor healthcare services and lack of sexual health information and education. There is still considerable stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV. They are frequently excluded from families and communities, and many have to travel long distances to access the few quality services that exist.

Despite an increase in major HIV initiatives at the national level, including access to free anti-retroviral drugs and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission, many gaps and barriers remain in the provision of and access to HIV services. In 2001, the Alliance set up a non-governmental organisation support programme in the South-West region to respond to the particular need in this area for better quality and improved coverage of non-governmental and community-based organisations.

What we do

The Alliance works in Nigeria through its linking organisation, the Network on Ethics, Law, HIV/AIDS Prevention, Support and Care (NELA). NELA is one of very few independent Nigerian NGOs that has direct experience in programme implementation, while also acting as an intermediary support organisation. In this capacity, NELA provides onward technical and financial support to other smaller organisations working on prevention programmes with youth, sex workers and people living with HIV, as well as care and support activities for people living with HIV and their families.

NELA’s programme also aims to increase community knowledge on HIV/ and related issues, and to promote positive prevention among people living with HIV/. This has been achieved through training for peer counsellors to promote positive living and positive prevention, advocacy activities to promote support for HIV/AIDS programmes most especially by creating an enabling environment for people infected and affected by the epidemic, community awareness and sensitisation events, production of information, education and communication (IEC) materials and mass media programmes. NELA’s partners produce materials that carry life saving and knowledge improvement messages, ranging from prevention focusing on HIV basic facts, anti-stigma, the promotion of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), to the promotion of adherence to treatment. These activities have greatly helped in reaching out to the wider community who have a great role to play in supporting people living with HIV to live positively and ultimately in reducing in spread of the virus.

NELA also provides training and mentoring to smaller NGOs to help them grow and deliver quality HIV/AIDS services within their respective communities. As part of NELA’s home-based care activities, trained volunteers provide nutritional and psychosocial support to people living with HIV, orphans and other vulnerable children, and affected families. Community-based activities such as discussion groups provide further support to affected and infected people, as well as raise awareness of stigma and discrimination. The programme has also trained and supported community outreach workers to work with vulnerable populations, such as youth, sex workers and PLHA.

The Alliance provides ongoing technical and financial support to NELA to strengthen its role as a support provider to smaller community groups by developing the systems and skills needed to do so. The Alliance further assists NELA by developing its advocacy, communication and fundraising skills.

What we have achieved

The Alliance and NELA currently provide technical support to 12 community-based partners to initiate and sustain high-quality community care and support for people living with HIV. NELA has developed an innovative cross referral approach called the ‘nodal approach’, through which it co-ordinates, networks and refers beneficiaries between partners’ projects, the local community and government services. NELA has built successful relationships to ensure that those in needs have continuous access to treatment both for opportunistic infections as well as HIV.

In April 2006, the Alliance supported NELA to organise a workshop on community engagement for treatment for its community based partners aimed at building their skills and giving them confidence to implement effective community-based treatment programmes.

NELA plays a leading role in reducing stigma and discrimination by providing short-stay and home-based care services for people living with HIV who are often rejected from public health services. NELA has become a referral centre for people living with HIV in the region, and the organisation’s partners have reported a similar increase in referrals of clients from public and private health institutions.

NELA’s community-based experience of HIV prevention and care ensures the organisation an important role in HIV programming. The organisation’s executive director chaired the International African AIDS Conference (ICASA), which took place in Abuja in December 2005.

Future plans

In 2006, alongside its care and support activities, NELA will be strengthening its stigma and discrimination work through a regional workshop to build the skills of field actors to address stigma and discrimination. In an effort to alleviate the impact of stigma and discrimination on those affected in South West Nigeria, a number of advocacy visits to key stakeholders will also be held. This is expected to help raise awareness of stigma and lead to policies to address this issue.