AFRO-NETS> Advocacy campaign on access to treatment in Nigeria

[Princess Olufemi-Kayode <resourcecentre@nigeria-aids.org>]

Advocacy campaign on access to treatment in Nigeria
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Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS) Nigeria has commenced an advocacy 
campaign to support access to affordable treatment and care for Nige-
rians living with HIV/AIDS.

The two-year campaign aims to secure access to HIV-related care and 
treatment by empowering a wide body of stakeholders with the appro-
priate information and skills to act on these issues.

Specific objectives of the project include empowering people living 
with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) with the skills and knowledge to advocate on 
issues of access to treatment. It would also seek to enhance national 
exchange of information and experiences between PLWHA, HIV/AIDS work-
ers and organizations, the private sector, community organizations, 
the media and other relevant organizations in Nigeria on issues of 
access to care and treatment. 

In addition, the project would facilitate the formation of a broad-
based national response to HIV/AIDS care and treatment through the 
building of a strong, functional care and treatment network, the en-
actment of laws, legislation and policies that will guarantee access 
to treatment for PLWHA, as well as strategies for proper implementa-
tion of these laws and policies.

The project will target people living with HIV/AIDS, the media, pol-
icy-making and implementation institutions, the human rights commu-
nity, medical personnel and other professionals working in the field 
of HIV/AIDS. 

The project will be carried out through five core activities. These 
include consultative meetings and roundtables with stakeholders in 
four selected locations in Nigeria. The meetings will serve as a fo-
rum to conduct a needs assessment of the various stakeholder groups 
and will also aim at building a wide body of potential network con-
tacts and achieving multi-sectorality in the campaign. 

Five nos. capacity-building workshops will also be held with groups 
of stakeholders across the country, including the media, PLWHA net-
works, civil society organizations, the local pharmaceutical industry 
and officials of both the legislative and executive arms of govern-
ment. 

The project would also include the production and dissemination of 
bi-monthly newsletters to update stakeholders on issues relating to 
access to treatment as well as the creation of a website and listserv 
that will collate, store and distribute critical information and up-
dates on access to treatment issues.

These activities will be carried out over a period of two years, with 
start-up support provided by the Ford Foundation, Office for West Af-
rica.

To ensure effective implementation of the project, an advisory board 
comprising people living with HIV/AIDS, care providers, civil rights 
organizations, officials of the health ministry and the legislative 
arm of government and other relevant stakeholders is being set up to 
provide review and monitoring oversights.

For further information about the project, please contact the Project 
Officer at: jaaidsng@nigeria-aids.org 

Princess Olufemi-Kayode
Media Programmes Officer
Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS) Nigeria
mailto:resourcecentre@nigeria-aids.org

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