The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has concluded a five-year programme that provided support for 500,000 children orphaned or made vulnerable by the AIDS epidemic, and 125,000 of their caregivers.
Since 2013, the $45.3 million Sustainable Mechanisms for Improving Livelihoods (SMILE) activity, funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has scaled up support services for orphans and vulnerable children (in 47 local government areas across five states (Benue, Edo, Kogi, and Nasarawa) and the Federal Capital Territory.
Speaking at a closing ceremony in Abuja on Wednesday, Dr. Zohra Balsara, Director of the USAID Office of HIV/AIDS said, “Support to these vulnerable populations is critical for the future of Nigeria, a country whose human capital is its greatest strength.”
To achieve these results, SMILE provided grants to civil society organizations under a consortium led by the Catholic Relief Services.
SMILE helped establish referral networks, improve HIV/AIDS related service delivery, and support to households affected by the epidemic.
The activity worked through schools on health education and school access, provided psycho-social support to AIDS victims, and trained their caregivers on parenting skills.
Sonia Gambo, a beneficiary from Bwari Area Council in the FCT, said she thought her life was over after her initial diagnosis.
“I was dead,” she dramatically told ceremony participants before recounting how the SMILE project helped her secure a loan and seed money to plant crops and start a firewood business, while coaching her on how to be a better wife and mother despite her illness.
“SMILE taught me how to live positively with HIV,” she said.
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