Nigeria

HIV Prevention - Strengthening SBCC Capacity

C-Change is supporting Nigeria at the national level and in two federal states—Cross River and Kogi—to improve social and behavior change communication (SBCC) programming in HIV prevention.

To strengthen SBCC capacity, C-Change conducted assessments of 60 national and local NGOs and community-based organizations (CBOs) in mid-2009 using the C-Change SBCC Capacity Assessment Tool.

Findings from these assessments informed the 10-day Communication Planning for Improved Social and Behavior Change training. Conducted in December 2009, 24 persons from 14 U.S. Government implementing partners (USIPs) are benefiting from training, which is based on the six SBCC modules that C-Change developed and is currently field testing.
 

Nigeria's National Framework Addresses HIV and AIDS

C-Change has successfully assisted re-constitution of the national Behavior Change Communication Technical Working Group (BCC TWG). The BCC TWG membership draws from individuals and national groups with BCC expertise and has been repositioned to provide BCC technical oversight to the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA). The national BCC TWG is reviewing the operational plan of Nigeria’s National BCC strategy. C-Change is doing the same at the state level with the respective State Agencies for the Control of AIDS (SACA) in Cross River and Kogi states.

This work by C-Change meshes with Nigeria’s national strategic framework to address HIV and AIDS, which calls for the adoption of innovative, evidence-based strategies for behavior change.

In 2000, Nigeria strengthened its response to HIV and AIDS with establishment of national and state action committees on AIDS. In 2007, these committees were upgraded to full government agency status and mandated to coordinate the HIV and AIDS response at the national level--National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and at the state and local government levels--SACAs and LACAs.
 

PEPFAR Funding

These C-Change activities are funded by PEPFAR, which has already provided significant resources for the provision of antiretrovirals (ART) to Nigerians living with HIV and AIDS.