Strengthening community health and HIV response in Nigeria — five years of impact

The Strengthening Community Health and HIV Response project was started in Nigeria with funding received through the Programme Partnership Arrangement (PPA) — a civil society support mechanism provided by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

After five successful years, the programme has now ended. The project made remarkable impact in the lives of marginalised and poor people in hard-to-reach communities. Employing the very successful ‘fruit bowl’ approach, a range of health, education and disease prevention solutions were provided to communities through community volunteers.

Iornenge and his wife Mkuma, members of a Christian Aid project Community agreed to uptake family planning services to enable them focus on their existing children

Project achievements

• A National Anti-Stigma Reduction Strategy was developed for the first time in Nigeria.

‘We don’t know who HIV positive is because their status is declared privately to them. We cannot claim to know by looking at them. If we know someone who is HIV positive, we will not discriminate against them… Before we used to have a horrible fear, immediately someone falls sick and starts deteriorating, we will all run away.’

• Antenatal care for pregnant women was promoted with more women delivering babies in health facilities.
• Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV was achieved for many women through promotion of ante-natal care and counselling.
• Many women were given the opportunity to access child spacing services through our collaboration with Marie Stopes. Demand for family planning services was created through the project, supply of those services were met through partnership with Marie Stopes International.
• Vitamin A supplement and deworming (Abendazole) services were provided to children under the age of five in hard-to-reach communities through partnership with Vitamin Angels.

A toilet and bathroom constructedin one of the project communities

‘We now carry out sanitation once every month. In the past, we carried out sanitation once a year.’

• Open defecation was eliminated in many project communities after community-led total sanitation triggering conducted in partnership with Water Aid.

Find out more

Download the project report: Strengthening Community Health and HIV Response in Nigeria (PDF)

Christian Aid’s strategic funding (PPA) work

Christian Aid’s work in Nigeria