Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Families Alive International’s Counseling and Media Center.

On behalf of the US Mission in Nigeria and our organization, FAI I have the honor to formally welcome you to the Media Tour of the
5 target communities on this project.

Families Alive International is a Not for Profit, Non-Governmental Organization set up to propagate, protect and advocate the
all-inclusive rights of the family, the right to good health, quality education, conducive home environment, etc.

In collaboration with the Public Affairs Section of the US Mission in Nigeria under PEPFAR Media program, FAI has specifically designed this project to meet situations of border communities as found in our target communities of Ilogbo, Oko Afo, Ibiye, Mowo and Magbon in the Olorunda Local Government of Lagos State and in the Lagos/Seme border axis.

This grant from PEPFAR on HIV/AIDS Awareness is a part of the United States Government/Nigeria partnership for HIV/AIDS relief. This tour should take us to the 5 target communities starting with a visit to the Local Government Headquarters as well as the Badagry General Hospital, a partner VCT center. We take this opportunity to say Thank You to PEPFAR and the US Mission in Nigeria for their support while we pledge to work right to see that the project brings most desired quantifiable indicators of change in our people. As a people, we need to live right for ourselves, for our families and for our world. The dreadfulness of the HIV scourge cannot be taken lightly, especially when you consider the fact that it has no cure. Yes, LIFE itself is a terminal disease; however whatever time we spend here on earth, should be in good health.

To a large extent, the virus is preventable, and like in traffic safety, we all as individuals should practice DEFENSIVE DRIVING which in the matter of HIV/AIDS means one should live right to prevent HIV infection on oneself and do all that’s humanly possible as individuals and as a people to contribute to helping other folks around us avoid getting infected. 

The peculiarity of border communities

HIV/AIDS is a significant problem along border areas around the world. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in such places is made more complex by many factors including cultural norms regarding sexuality (as social marketing campaign messages that work to reverse such cultural norms on issues related to sexuality, including HIV, are hitherto not discussed in public), the rural nature of most borders resulting in geographic isolation and poverty, and lack of access to culturally sensitive, high-quality health care. The challenge of reaching and providing care to individuals infected and affected by HIV/AIDS is compounded by these social, economic, political, and cultural factors. Because so many infected individuals along the border do not know their HIV status, bringing people into testing is a critical component of this outreach.

Truck drivers are considered at high risk for HIV infection because they are away from home for long periods of time, which often leads them to engage in casual sex or to seek the services of sex workers. Same goes for men and women of uniform services who frequently are posted to ports around the country without having to move round with their families. 

Other migrant workers and travelers who commute across the border, particularly those who are in transit for one reason or the other are equally at high risk of HIV infection.

Hot spots of HIV vulnerability around the border and along the axis include bus stops, restaurants, beer parlors, road camps, ‘arranged’ overnight homes, hotels and other enterprises where people are waiting for rides or going back and forth to work. People frequent fast-food restaurants and other joints to eat, wait for rides, wait for incoming associates, or conduct business among other travelers or border-based traders.

The sex workers based near migrant camps are women who are at especially high risk for HIV. Women living in border areas are at risk for HIV infection too because their husbands may engage in high risk behaviors. Ordinarily, these are women with no risk factors other than their husbands having sex outside the marriage; however, there are also wives and young unmarried women who engage in high risk behaviors, particularly made vulnerable by border environmental situations.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

1. Using media tools, the basic objectives of the project include

2. Promoting awareness about HIV/AIDS

3. Promoting behavioral change

4. Educate on ways to prevent infections

5. Advocate the rights of the individual on matters of HIV/AIDS

6. Reduction in the level of HIV/AIDS stigmatization in the communities.

7. Promote/facilitate VCT and make referrals

8. Build community based -support groups

9. Build a network of people living with HIV/AIDS

10. Build a network of young people to encourage delay sex debut and sex abstinence

11. In other and critical cases, offer an alternative in the proper use of the RIGHT COMDOM.

In conclusion I wish to say here that we can not do this alone, we require your support and today’s tour which you have honored is to us an indication of your responsive partnership. We trust it shall also afford you the opportunity to feel the pulse of the project. 

Gentlemen, the team from this end comprises of:

Dr. Rudolph E. Stewart - US Mission’s Information Officer
Mr. Dalhatu Hamza – US Mission’s Program Specialist

FAI

Deaconess Bisi Oyenuga, Education
Mrs Mosun Agesin, Outreach
Mrs Feyi Olamigoke, Health
Mrs Olaitan Yinka-Balogun, Nutrition and Welfare
Mr. Femi Esan, Monitoring and Evaluation
Mr. Femi Ojo, Media
Funsho Olamigoke, Media, IT Communication and Training
Dr Omotayo Ojo, Medical
Mr. Taiye Oyefolu, Community Lead Volunteer

We thank you gentlemen for your attention.

Funsho Olamigoke
Project Coordinator

REACHING US
Families Alive International
220 Herbert Macaulay Way
Alagomeji Yaba, Lagos
Phone; 01 893 8948
Mobile; 0805 700 9820
E-mail: info@familiesalive.net
Web:   http://www.familiesalive.net