Concept paper on the harmonization of women's rights movement and
organization working on women and HIV/AID

Introduction

There are many women (focused) organizations and those working on the
issues of women and HIV/AIDS located in different parts of Nigeria.
These
organizations focus on calling attention to women isues, protection of
their rights and how their situations can be improved. However there is
a
disconnect between these two important movements as they are scattered
and
they have been working independently of each other with low level of
interaction.

Women are not a homogeneous group, as they differ, so do their needs
but
their rights as women remain the same. Women living with HIV/AIDS are
first
and foremost women and their rights are women's rights.There is a
disconnect between women's right movement, advocates of women' rights
and
HIV/AIDS has entrenched the absence of a united front by women and a
unified
voice to articulate and call attention to the peculiar needs of women
living
with HIV/AIDS.

In Nigeria in the last 2 years there has been the organization of
constituencies based on their comparative advantages in which they
coordinate their activities in the different sectors e.g. NYNETA as
constituency of the youth, Interfaith coalition as constituency of
religious bodies. A coordinated woman constituency i.e. a united women
front is however missing. It is therefore important to coordinate and
harmonize activities of the women rights and HIV/AIDS groups in the
country in other to strengthen advocacy and ensure that gender equality

and rights of women inform HIV/AIDS programming.

Proposal:

The proposal is for the establishment of a platform for increased
involvement
of women and women orientation the National Response to HIV/AIDS. The
platform
will build on and strengthen, through coordination and harmonization,
existing
women' organization and those working on HIV/AIDS. The strengthened
platform
will forge a united front and stronger voice that will influence
national
response and push that agenda of women' right and HIV/AIDS in all
sectors.
It will be a recognized body with National Action Committee on AIDS
(NACA)
as a National Partnership Forum representing the interests and concerns
of
women. This is to ensure redress and protection of women and girls
which
has been exacerbated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The proposed platform is intended to coordinate/harmonize women
organizations
with a clear, common purpose and visions on women's rights and
HIV/AIDS.
The platform will ensure the coordination and harmonization of the
activities
of women' rights organization, those working on women and HIV/AIDS and
the
networking of women living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.

Methodology
There will be a forum of 120 persons (maximum) made up of notable women
with
technical know-how on women issues/HIV/AIDS and political will,
selected by
SACAs/FACA, the donor community, women's rights organizations, women
and
HIV/AIDS movement. The consultative forum will meet for two days to
brainstorm
and map out strategies for pushing a women's agenda on HIV/AIDS which
will
be developed after the 2 day meeting must have agreed on the rallying
point
for coalition.

A technical working group is expected to be constituted during
this meeting and it expected to come out with a work plan which will be

presented to the country and all stakeholders. The meeting will start
with a
presentation of the concept paper on the harmonization on women's
rights
movement and organizations working on women and HIV/AIDS, followed by
plenary
sessions and group work on thematic issues (i.e. care and support,
treatment,
prevention, impact mitigation, etc) for the identification of rally
points.

Overall goal

The overall goal is to establish a unified platform to enable women
advocate
for and address the disproportionate vulnerability of women and girls
to HIV
infection.

Specific objectives:

To develop a women rights agenda for action on HIV/AIDS in Nigeria
To set up a coalition of women organization from and including
association
of women living with HIV/AIDS and networking of women organization to
move
the women and AIDS agenda forward.

AIDS victims”buried alive” in Papua New Guinea

Relatives are burying some people with the HIV/AIDS virus in Papau New Guinea PNG alive, a local health worker has said.
Margaret Marabe a local activist who works for Igat Hope Organisation in the capital, Port Moresby said families were taking the extreme action as they no longer cater for the sufferers or feared getting infected.
Ms Marabe said she witnessed the “live burials” during a five-month trip to PNG’s remote Southern Highlands.
The renowned activist, earlier this year carried out an awareness campaign in the Tariarea of the Southern Highlands.
“I saw three people with my own eyes. When they got very sick and people could not look after them,” she told reporters.
Ms Marabe described how one person called out “mama, mama,” as the soil was being shoveled over their head.
Villagers told her that such action was common, she said.
PNG has been grip by the worst HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region.
An estimated two percent of the six million populations are believed to be infected, and HIV diagnoses rise by around 30 per cent each year.
Meanwhile, international health agencies have warned action must be taken to prevent hundreds of thousands of people becoming infected.
Ms Marabe, said that people in remote parts of PNG remained ignorant about HIV/AIDS and urged the government to take action, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported.
“There are no voluntary counseling training centres in Tari. There are also no training programmes on HIV,” Ms Marabe was quoted by PNG’s post-Courier newspaper as saying.
PNG’s secretary for Health Dr. Nicholas Mann admitted to the BBC in an interview last year that the multitude of cultures and languages in the country made it difficult to get the HIV/AIDS message across.
But he said Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare had brought the issue under his remit, and that the government was working closely with agencies to curb the pandemic.

Demolition plans bring new ethnic twist to Port Harcourt
Conflict
State government plans to demolish several slums in the unstable southern Nigerian city of Port Harcourt could spark ethnic tensions, fuel violence, and leave up to 100,000 homeless.

Rivers State Governor Celestine Omehia announced on 21 August his government would demolish 25 slum districts in the ramshackle waterfront area of the city that currently houses between 50,000 and 100,000 people, according to local estimates.

Omehia’s announcement followed several weeks of violence which culminated in running street battles in Port Harcourt between armed fighters on motorbikes and the army, which strafed several parts of the city with attack helicopters, and finally ended the violence by imposing a curfew.

Omehia said the slums were hiding places and landing points for militia fighters and armed gangs who had made the oil-rich city one of the most insecure places in the country by frequently taking oil workers hostage for ransom, and attacking government troops and each other.

However, ethnic leaders have expressed fears that the slum clearances could backfire, and some of the rhetoric has assumed a distinctly ethnic tone, pitting against each other two ethnic groups with significant numbers in Port Harcourt and the region - the Ijaws and the Ikwerres.

Ijaw fears

“Our fears stem from the fact that residents of most of the waterfronts, especially the Okrikas who have for generations lived all their lives in these waterfronts and fishing settlements as original aborigines, will become homeless,” explained Miebaka Biapuka, spokesman of the Okrika Ethnic Nationality Survival Organisation.

For the residents of these waterfront slums who have borne much of the brunt of the fighting, it would be a cruel blow for them to have to lose their homes as well, said Biapuka.

Ikwerre opposition

Ijaw political leaders accuse Omehia, an Ikwerre, of having links to some of the armed gangs involved in the recent fighting in the city, and have called on Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua to declare emergency rule in Rivers State.
Emergency rule would mean Omehia stepping down from office for at least six months with an administrator appointed by the president running the state in the interim.

Ikwerre political leaders have already spoken out. In several newspaper adverts, Ikwerre political groups have denounced the call for emergency rule as subversive and called on Omehia to press on with efforts to rid Port Harcourt of militia fighters, welcoming the demolition plans.

“The moment these armed gangs start shooting along ethnic lines, the violence is bound to get worse,” Obudu Waritimi, a Port Harcourt resident and university teacher, told IRIN. “They will think they now have a cause to atone for their criminal past.”

Rebuilding

Omehia has promised to build 6,000 new housing units to replace the slums, and said the first phase of construction was already complete.

Local residents are sceptical. “The whole thing is so sudden and there are no plans about where to move us or any compensation,” said Dagogo Jack, a resident of Creek Road Waterside, one of the slum areas marked for destruction. “By the time they rebuild this place, it will be for the very rich and not poor people like us any more.”


Elile Johne
Youth Empowerment Foundation,
LEAP Africa Alumni
+234-805-9260-736
+234-802-6961-559
+234-1-773-2200-1
johnelile@fastermail.com
gozzle2002@yahoo.com

Youth Empowerment Foundation, Lagos, Nigeria
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, as at 2006 had an estimated population of 130 million of which 4.4% are infected with HIV. This is based on the last sentinel survey results released at the end of December, 2005. Of this alarming figure, 3.9% are young people aged 15-49 years, representing a major sect of the Nation's productive age and workforce of the economy.
Description: As part of efforts to mitigate the severe HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nigeria, a preventive intervention using telephone as a means to counsel was initiated by the Youth Empowerment Foundation (YEF) with the theme "Knowledge is Power" this project was first implemented with the technical support from the Johns Hopkins University Health Communication Partnership (HCP) with funds from United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation also provided funding for the Hotline for one year, though little funding now comes from the National Agency for the Control of AIDs (NACA). The hotlines, which are open 24 hours (base on commitment, hardwork and focus by the counselor) and manned by trained young counselors provide information aimed at increasing knowledge and awareness, encouraging behavior change, providing emotional support and referrals to health facilities and support groups.
Lessons learned: Over the last 6 years, over 101,800 calls were received 63% of which were males and 37% females. Of these, the age group 19-34 (85%) showed more quests for knowledge. Main issues discussed with callers include;

General information and transmission (22%),
Symptoms of AIDS (17%),
HIV testing (25%)
Prevention of HIV (11%),
Requests on drug treatment (9%),
STDs (3%),
Care giving for PLWHAs (5%),
Support group information (5%),
other diseases (3%)

One in every two calls made to the hotline ends in a referral, and calls have been received from all parts of Nigeria countries with majority coming from Lagos, Abuja, North West and the South South .
This write up presents a detailed update of the first 24-hour HIV/AIDS hotline in Nigeria based on a computerized review of hotline data from August 2001 to August 2007. It highlights the urgent need for scaled up services for VCT, care and support and clinically supervised ARV use.
The hotline also provides referrals to five VCT sites as well as other local health services. To help promote the HIV/AIDS hotline program, much work needs to be done to launch a mass media campaign (television, radio, newspaper, and print materials) in the rural communities and in different languages. The project also produced an HIV/AIDS question and answer book for health care providers. This book provides up-to-date information about HIV and answers frequently asked questions on a full range of HIV and AIDS related issues.

However, the need calls for more support on the 24 hours HIV/AIDS hotline to also come from other networks like MTN and Globacom to provide a toll free to its users since the toll free is only for those who have Celtel lines. Please note that some communities do not have Celtel network and are do not have the units on their phones to make call to the toll free, then what happens? Everyone is in need of information now! But most people will rather keep it closed up and disclose to only a far and secret friend which the hotline suits. The Hotlines have made changes and I think more emphasis needs to be done to promote the hotlines to the rural communities.

The hotlines are situated in four geo-political zones in Nigeria; in Lagos +234-802-7192-780, Abuja +234-802-7192-781, Kano +234-802-7192-782, Calabar +234-802-7192-783, please note that the Hotlines are free only from Celtel Line only!

Elile Johne
Youth Empowerment Foundation,
Co-ordinator HIV/AIDS Hotline
LEAP Africa Alumni
+234-805-9260-736
+234-802-6961-559
+234-1-773-2200-1
aidshotline@yahoo.com
gozzle2002@yahoo.com

Toll Free HIV AIDS Hotlines In Nigeria
Translated into French by: Johne
Youth Empowerment Foundation, Lagos, Nigeria
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, as at 2006 had an estimated population of 130 million of which 4.4% are infected with HIV. This is based on the last sentinel survey results released at the end of December, 2005. Of this alarming figure, 3.9% are young people aged 15-49 years, representing a major sect of the Nation's productive age and workforce of the economy.
Description: As part of efforts to mitigate the severe HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nigeria, a preventive intervention using telephone as a means to counsel was initiated by the Youth Empowerment Foundation (YEF) with the theme "Knowledge is Power" this project was first implemented with the technical support from the Johns Hopkins University Health Communication Partnership (HCP) with funds from United States Agency for International Development (USAID), but now funded by National Agency for the Control of AIDs (NACA). The hotlines, which are open 24 hours and manned by trained young counselors provide information aimed at increasing knowledge and awareness, encouraging behavior change, providing emotional support and referrals to health facilities and support groups.
Lessons learned: Over the last 6 years, over 101,800 calls were received 63% of which were males and 37% females. Of these, the age group 19-34 (85%) showed more quests for knowledge. Main issues discussed with callers include;

General information and transmission (29%),
Symptoms of AIDS (16%),
HIV testing (23%)
Prevention of HIV (11%),
Requests on drug treatment (9%),
STDs (4%),
Care giving for PLWHAs (4%),
Support group information (3%).

One in every two calls made to the hotline ends in a referral, and calls have been received from all parts of Nigeria countries with majority coming from Lagos and Abuja.
This write up presents a detailed update of the first 24-hour HIV/AIDS hotline in Nigeria based on a computerized review of hotline data from August 2001 to August 2007. It highlights the urgent need for scaled up services for VCT, care and support and clinically supervised ARV use.
The hotline also provides referrals to five VCT sites as well as other local health services. To help promote the HIV/AIDS hotline program, much work needs to be done to launch a mass media campaign (television, radio, newspaper, and print materials) in the rural communities and in different languages. The project also produced an HIV/AIDS question and answer book for health care providers. This book provides up-to-date information about HIV and answers frequently asked questions on a full range of HIV and AIDS related issues.

However, the need calls for more support on the 24 hours HIV/AIDS hotline to also come from other networks like MTN and Globacom to provide a toll free to its users since the toll free is only for those who have Celtel lines. Please note that some communities do not have Celtel network and are do not have the units on their phones to make call to the toll free, then what happens? Everyone is in need of information now! But most people will rather keep it closed up and disclose to only a far and secret friend which the hotline suits. The Hotlines have made changes and I think more emphasis needs to be done to promote the hotlines to the rural communities.

The hotlines are situated in four geo-political zones in Nigeria; in Lagos +234-802-7192-780, Abuja +234-802-7192-781, Kano +234-802-7192-782, Calabar +234-80271-9272-783, please note that the Hotlines are free only from Celtel Line only!

Construction of hundreds of local health centres suspended in Nigeria

Health clinic in Daura, Katsina State, northern Nigeria
DAKAR, 24 August 2007 (IRIN) - Recently-elected Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar' Adua has suspended the construction of 774 healthcare centres throughout his country, drawing questions on how his administration plans to tackle the increasingly dire health care situation in Africa’s most populous nation.

"Whatever the rights or wrongs of the suspension of the contract… the fact remains that Nigeria has in recent years spent less of its budget per capita on healthcare than any other African government,” Ben Foot, programme director for Save the Children in Nigeria said.

According to the Nigerian Ministry of Health, the contracts for the building of one health centre in each of the 774 local council districts, which was drawn up during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure, was to be funded by direct monthly deductions from local council accounts.

Councils protested the deductions, arguing they were being taken without permission and were therefore unconstitutional. In response, on 6 August Yar'Adua issued a presidential directive to stop the withdrawal of money and simultaneously created a task force to review the completed work that were being carried out by private firms.

The task force, led by representatives from the ministries of health and finance, is to report back to the president by 6 September and a decision will be made as to whether construction of the centres will continue. About 18 billion naira (about US$142.6 million) had been deducted from the monthly allocations of local councils up to 6 August.

Unconstitutional

“The new government believes the policy of taking money from local councils without their approval is unconstitutional, even if it is on seemingly altruistic grounds,” Theodore Ogazieci, chief press secretary for the Ministry of Health in Nigeria told IRIN. “The money belongs to the councils and they should decide what to do with it.”

“On the grassroots level, people were happy about the centres because they would allow improved access to health care. But without due process, the contract lacked the transparency the new government is working towards,” he said. “The task force will work to come up with a solution that is both transparent and gets the health centres built,” he said.

Deteriorating healthcare system

Even so non-governmental organisations remain concerned. Nigeria’s healthcare system has continued to deteriorate in the face of corruption, bad economic policy and political turmoil. Despite great wealth in natural resources, total government expenditure on health in 2004 amounted to only 3.5 percent of the oil rich nation’s federal budget, according to the World Health Organization.

One in five children does not live to the age of five, and life expectancy at birth is just 44. An estimated four million Nigerians are living with HIV/AIDS.

As of 2003, there were only 34,923 doctors for the country’s some 140 million citizens, and large sections of the country still lack even the most basic healthcare facilities. In northern Nigeria, mothers with malnourished children have been crossing the border to look for help in Niger, the poorest country in the world. (See IRIN report)

In 2001, African Union (AU) members met in Abuja, Nigeria, promising to set aside 15 percent of their respective budgets for healthcare costs. To date, only four nations have met this goal, despite the AU having renewed their commitment in May of 2006 at a Special Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

“Save the Children hopes that President Yar' Adua will soon disclose his plan for tackling the appalling state of health services in Nigeria and in particular in the north," said Foot.

Elile Johne
Youth Empowerment Foundation,
LEAP Africa Alumni
+234-805-9260-736
+234-802-6961-559
+234-1-773-2200-1
johnelile@fastermail.com
gozzle2002@yahoo.com