Detailed Mechanism Funding and Narrative

Details for Mechanism ID: 7359
Country/Region: Nigeria
Year: 2010
Main Partner: John Snow, Inc
Main Partner Program: NA
Organizational Type: Private Contractor
Funding Agency: USAID
Total Funding: $2,145,000

Funding for Sexual Prevention: Abstinence/Be Faithful (HVAB): $2,145,000

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION: AIDSTAR will be required to identify and build planning and managerial

capacity of local partners as well as strengthen local technical capacity to deliver high-quality

comprehensive AB prevention programs and services aimed at promoting partner reduction and

preventing transactional sex. Specific activities will entail the identification and building the capacity of

indigenous faith-based and community-based organizations (FBOs and CBOs) to provide high quality

prevention programming that will bring about effective behavior change as it relates to reduction of

multiple sexual partners and transactional sex. In addition, AIDSTAR will undertake community based

activities to facilitate normative changes that enhance the practice of abstinence and mutual fidelity.

These activities will address adults, and men in particular, with messages that promote fidelity,

discourage male norms that encourage risky behaviors, encourage partner reduction through risk

reduction messages and personal risk perceptions skills. Activities will also focus on unmarried young

men and women across the board who are at high risk owing to contextual factors (domestic workers,

street vendors, etc.). Messages will be tailored to each target group. Activities to prevent transactional

sex and or protect youth involved in transactional sexual relationships will focus on skills based HIV

education for vulnerable young women and young men with broad based community activities that create

supportive normative environment for the practice of abstinence and fidelity. Influencers of young people,

including parents, teachers, religious leaders and community leaders will also be reached. These

interventions will be reinforced with mass media activities that highlight the importance of mutual fidelity,

risk behavior reduction and avoidance of transactional sex. AIDSTAR will concentrate activities in areas

that will be identified through secondary analysis of national behavioral data generated through the

Project SEARCH data triangulation exercise and the NARHS+ survey. AIDSTAR will utilize a minimum

package of interventions identified from a pool of best practices in the national prevention plan to provide

high quality prevention interventions for the population group identified. These interventions include: peer

education interventions, peer education plus models, workplace programs, community awareness

campaigns, school based program approaches, intervention programs to address issues of vulnerability,

provision of STI management, and infection control measures in clinical settings. The national prevention

plan 2007-2009 recommends that a minimum of three of these interventions be used to reach each target

while mass media activities will serve as reinforcement. The AIDSTAR prevention program will build

capacity of community-based, faith-based, and other non-governmental organizations (CBOs, FBOs and

NGOs) to provide this minimum package intervention for the specific population groups. Technically this

will entail familiarizing the organizations with the minimum package modules and adopting a program

approach that ensures delivery of the package. AIDSTAR will reach 97,500 individuals utilizing minimum

package interventions that promote abstinence and/or being faithful (AB) with 32,500 individuals reached

through interventions that promotes abstinence only (a subset of total reached with AB). 500 individuals

will be trained to promote HIV/AIDS prevention programs and 25 organizations will receive capacity

building toward high quality prevention programs for identified high risk population. AIDSTAR will

document and disseminate best practices; successful and innovative approaches with lessons learned

and share these with their implementing agencies as well as other partners within the PEPFAR program

in Nigeria. In COP 09, a particular focus will be on lessons learned on effective approaches for improving

linkages between clinical services and community based services to provide basis for strengthening the

prevention with positives programs and other specific interest high risk groups programs. Implementation

will be through NGOs, CBOs and FBOs whose capacity has been built by AIDSTAR and who have the

capacity for rapid scale up. Within the initial 6 months of implementation, capacity-building for provision of

prevention (AB) services for identified FBOs and CBOs will be carried out, followed by development of

materials on prevention of cross generational and transactional sex. AIDSTAR interventions will be in line

with national priority plan and national prevention plan. Geographic location will be negotiated with the

GON with South-South, South-East and North-Central states considered as prime regions for selection,

considering gaps in the PEPFAR response and based on the location of identified high risk groups from

review of behavioral surveillance data of prevalence among these groups. CONTRIBUTIONS TO

OVERALL PROGRAM AREA The programs and activities implemented will increase the reach of AB

interventions into epidemiologically important populations to better address gaps in coverage and to

better address specific behaviors within underserved populations. This AIDSTAR prevention program,

delivered through implementing agencies, will contribute to strengthening and expanding the capacity of

the Nigerian response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and increasing the prospects of meeting the Emergency

Plan's goal of preventing 1,145,545 new infections. LINKS TO OTHER ACTIVITIES This activity also

links with OVC and SI activities (i.e., the Project SEARCH activity for data informed program design).

POPULATIONS BEING TARGETED: Populations targeted in these AB activities will include younger

unmarried men and women and their corresponding figures-of-influence (parents, teachers and religious

leaders) and adult males to better address issues around cross-generational and transactional sex. KEY

LEGISLATIVE ISSUES ADDRESSED: Key legislative issues will address male norms and behaviors,

and increased equity and access to information and services for women. EMPHASIS AREAS: The

service delivery component will focus on information, education, and communication in the community

and will build linkages with other sectors and initiatives.

Key Issues Identified in Mechanism
Addressing male norms and behaviors
Increasing gender equity in HIV/AIDS activities and services