In COP 12, ENCAP is requesting $ 2,172,149 to deliver HIV prevention services to 75,424 individuals in FCT, Bayelsa, Rivers, Benue, Taraba, and Ebonyi states; and HIV Counselling and Testing services in FCT and Benue state. ENCAP interventions will target the general population subgroups at elevated risk (e.g. female out-of-school youth, widowed, divorced and migrant populations) and MARPsENCAPs approach emphasizes mutually reinforcing combination prevention strategies that address population-specific drivers in adherence to national standards. Interventions aim to increase HIV related knowledge and risk perception; reduce stigma; promote abstinence and fidelity; and encourage partner reduction. ENCAP partners will provide condoms and referrals for related services as appropriate. In COP 12, some partners in the FCT and Benue state will be supported to provide HTC services to 24,050 individuals among those targeted with prevention interventions.ENCAP will support the national HIV response through a comprehensive and outcome-focused approach to building capacity at 3 levels: 1) increasing individuals skills in management, leadership, and service delivery; 2) building organizations internal systems and financial viability; 3) supporting state level coordination, civil society participation, and technical leadership. In COP 13, ENCAP will implement a transition strategy to further increase local partners leadership of interventions and coordination with local and state governments.ENCAP will conduct a midterm project evaluation in COP 12 and use project data to inform program direction and support USAID/Nigeria to define, measure and drive evidence-based capacity building for HIV programs. ENCAP will work with partners to document and showcase promising practices.

In response to the shift in national priorities and adoption of the combination prevention approach, ENCAP will continue to provide comprehensive needs-based services to our target populations in COP 12 and 13. In COP 12, the project will reach a total of 75,424 individuals in the FCT, Bayelsa, Rivers, Benue, Taraba, and Ebonyi states with evidence-based individual and/or small group level HIV prevention interventions guided by the minimum prevention package approach.

The HVAB budget component in COP 12 is $628,532 based on an approximate cost of $25 per individual reached with prevention interventions.Recognizing the need to provide a comprehensive prevention package, ENCAP partners will implement a mix of strategies incorporating all necessary elements while emphasizing specific approaches tailored to specific target populations, for instance interventions primarily focused on abstinence and delaying sexual debut will reach 25,141 persons in COP 12, focusing mainly on in-school youth, and will be complemented by the provision information on condom use and referrals as appropriate. Similarly, a combination approach will be used to promote partner reduction and fidelity amongst out of-school youth, married persons, and other sexually active individuals. Overall, strategies will include peer education, community outreach activities, community awareness campaigns, peer education plus and school based approaches (for in-school youth). In addition, ENCAP plans to incorporate the provision of HTC to these target population groups, if requested funding is received for this, through a number of ENCAP partners already proving HTC services on a smaller scale.In COP 12, ENCAP will continue to build CBO partners capacity to design, manage, and implement tailored prevention interventions in line with national guidelines by promoting best practices in HIV prevention service delivery.ENCAP is committed to sustainable organizational development and will continue to work with CBO partners to strengthen their institutional capacity with a focus on leadership and governance, financial management, monitoring and evaluation, and human resource development.

ENCAP project targets general population sub-groups at elevated risk and most-at-risk populations (MARPs) with combination prevention interventions. Addressing the low knowledge of HIV sero-status among men and women is fundamental for combination prevention and promoting entry into care. In COP 12 and 13; ENCAP proposes to expand its scope of services in the FCT and Benue state to include HIV Testing and Counselling services and will reach 24.050 individuals in COP 12.

Seven ENCAP partners in the FCT and Benue state currently provide HTC services and are uniquely positioned to maximize reach by offering HTC services to population sub-groups at elevated risk particularly MARPS, young women and out-of-school youth risk already being targeted with prevention interventions in their communities. ENCAP will build on existing capacities to efficiently scale up HTC services. As a complementary biomedical intervention, HTC will increase dosage and intensity, and serve as an entry point for referral into care. Existing prevention services will serve as a platform to promote increased uptake of HTC services among those at higher risk of infection. ENCAP partners will use a three-prong approach to deliver services: 1) through peer education interventions; 2) through targeted outreach at community events; and 3) through existing couple counselling structures of faith based partners in FCT and Benue to increase uptake. Nationally developed and currently used HTC service delivery forms will be used to collect data on beneficiaries. Data will be reported to USAID and will feed into the national M&E HTC database. Existing protocols will be reviewed with partners to ensure HIV testing strategies are in line with national guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs). Linkages will be established between partners in the all ENCAP states to increase access to related services.

The budget for the HVCT component is $151,533 based on an approximate cost of $6.30 per individual reached. This is based on actual service delivery costs. In COP 12, ENCAP will also allocate $87,000 towards supporting HTC coordination at national level, including an IP HTC meeting and national HTC survey.

In COP 12 and 13, in addition to education on condom use and negotiation, ENCAP will implement other HIV prevention interventions including condom provision as feasible, and continue with the provision of referrals for STI management and other HIV-related services. We will target population subgroups at higher risk including MARPS to reach a total of 50,283 individuals with other prevention interventions in COP 12. In COP 12 and 13, MARPS will constitute about 10% of the total population targeted with comprehensive interventions incorporating HVOP components.

ENCAP partners will continue to implement a mix of minimum package prevention strategies tailored for higher risk populations. Strategies include community outreach, peer education plus, particularly for out-of-school youth and specific population awareness campaigns to target subgroups at elevated risk and MARPs.

ENCAP will also procure condoms for peer educators to distribute to their cohorts (particularly for MARPS) and for other population groups will provide information on condom use and referrals to condom service outlets for greater access. ENCAP will also support direct condom distribution by partners for their cohort groups and use during community outreaches. In addition, the higher risk groups will be able to access HTC services from some ENCAP partner sites in FCT and Benue state.

The budget for the HVOP component is $1,305,084 based on an approximate cost of $26 per individual reached. This cost is based on actual service delivery costs. In COP 12, ENCAP will continue to support institutional capacity interventions to promote the organizational development of partner CBOs and improve their ability to design, manage and implement tailored prevention programs. Key capacity building activities will include strategic planning and policy development, staff coaching, mentoring, on-the-job training, HIV prevention seminars for improved technical capacity; and support for strengthened coordination and referral mechanisms.