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Tag: United States Agency for International Development

  • Fed Govt, USAID partner on low TB detection

    The Federal Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has concluded plans to carry out a pilot intervention programme in Lagos and Kano states to address low tuberculosis (TB) detection.

    The Head of Advocacy Communication and Social Mobilisation (ACSM) unit of the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Program (NTBLCP) in the ministry, Mrs. Itohowo Uko, made this known at a workshop in Nasarawa.

    She said the decision to choose Lagos and Kano was based on data and their urban areas.

    The programme is being funded by the USAID through the Breakthrough Action project to show the value it will add to the sector.

    “We decided to deviate from the conventional way to go into the communities to interact with them and understand the situation from the community members’ perspective; not just sitting in Abuja and developing messages that might not really speak to the needs of the people.

    “In Lagos, we will be working in Ajeromi and Badagry local government areas (LGAs) where they have high TB burden. We will also be working in two LGAs in Kano. The pilot is going to last for 12 weeks, after which we will do a survey to see what impact it has added. We will also take data from various DOTS centres to see the rate of TB reporting and case findings in those centres. Then after two weeks, we will go back to see if there has been an increase in the number of cases reported in those LGAs from the DOTS centres. With that, we will be able to say whether the interventions are worth expanding,”she said.

    Read also: Woman kills cleric in attempted rape

    On funding, Mrs. Uko explained that apart from resources the ministry gets from the government (which is not enough), the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, was keen to have in-country financing through the public-private mix (PPM) where the private sector and philanthropists were being encouraged to come and contribute to the fight against TB in Nigeria.

    According to Mr. Joseph Edoh, a Senior Programme Officer for TB at Breakthrough Action, TB findings in Nigeria have been very low over a long time, adding that this is happening because of programming, reach of information and awareness.

    “Stigma has also contributed to the low case finding that we have been having so far. The approach we are adopting is a human-centre design (HCD), which is using the user perspective to look at the situation of TB across the country. And the HCD has the intent phase is where Breakthrough Action Nigeria as well as the donor agency – USAID, NTBLCP – agreed that the main challenge that we want to address is the low TB case detection across the country.

    “The next phase is to understand the problem, which is the discovery phase. It helps us to understand the problem from the patient’s, provider’s and expert’s perspective who design programmes.This leads us to the third phase, which is the design and test phase. This is where we generate ideas, test them among people in which the ideas are designed to help improve cases around.

    “We went through a process of reiteration; then we came up with the final five interventions that we are taking to the next phase. The next phase is the feasibility; some people call it piloting. Here, we are going to test the strength and any other weakness that this approach has so that we can recommend for scale up nationally,” he said.

    Edoh further explained that it is obvious that funding gap for TB is so wide, and majority of the funding is donor-funded. He added that the NTBLCP will improve in her reach and activities if it gets more funding.

    “In this case, we will be looking at the private sector coming in and supporting the whole TB case programmes in the country. For policy, I think some are already on the ground and a lot has been done in these areas, but we also need the buy-in of legislators to come up with policies that will help people with TB by considering the human right context of not forcing people. But when they become a public health risk, we need to get these people to get treatment so that they will not put every one of us at risk,” he advised.

  • USAID, Coca-Cola partner on water and sanitation

    The Water and Development Alliance (WADA) project in Nigeria has expanded access to safe, affordable, sustainable and reliable water and sanitation services for about 44,800 Nigerians in Abia and Cross River states

    The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) through their Water and Development Alliance (WADA) global partnership have commissioned a project to improve access to safe water and sanitation services for more than 44,800 persons in Abia and Cross River States in southern Nigeria.

    The projects were implemented over a two-year period by Partners for Development (PfD) and they, working closely with the state Rural Water Agencies (RUWASSA) and four selected Local Government Areas (LGAs), strengthened the capacity of water, sanitation and hygiene committees (WASHCOMs), providing new and improved water and sanitation facilities in 58 communities.

    Under the USAID and Coca-Cola partnership, 40 boreholes have been drilled and 31 sanitation facilities constructed across 34 locations in the two states. In addition, sanitation facilities in 19 schools and 7 health centers have been upgraded and are expected to significantly improve the learning environment for pupils in the locality.

    According to the JMP/WHO, 59.5 million (33%) Nigerians lack access to safe water and over 121 million (67%) Nigerians lack access to adequate sanitation.  PfD worked collaboratively with local and state government partners to make transformative impacts across communities in Cross River and Abia. Through social dialogue and WASH sensitization meetings at the community level, PfD helped members identify various gaps to effective WASH management, such as a lack of community structures to manage WASH services. With the formation and strengthening of community WASHCOMs, comprised of elected members of each community, communities realized their capacity to implement effective and safe WASH practices as well as properly maintain WASH infrastructure. A focus on engaging all stakeholders and members of the community on WASH issues while improving and expanding water and sanitation services in these communities shall produce sustainable improvements in public health.

    During the commissioning event, USAID Mission Director Stephen Haykin commented on the importance of investing in WASH services. “Investment in water, sanitation and hygiene is extremely important. This is why we partner [with] Coca-Cola and a number of local communities, 4 LGAs in 2 states to provide improved water services to more than 50,000 individuals and sanitation to them…We believe maintaining these facilities will go a long way to contribute to the health and economic well-being and development of your communities.”

    Representing Mr. Bhupendra Suri, Managing Director of Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd, the Company’s Public Affairs and Communications Manager, Mrs. Nwamaka Onyemelukwe remarked, “Critical challenges relating to water and sanitation require collective and collaborative action. We are excited that through our partnership with USAID, the local state governments and Partners for Development, we have been able to make a positive difference in these communities.  We will continue to partner with likeminded organizations to find effective solutions to clean water and sanitation access.”

    The Deputy Governor of Abia state, Mr. Ude Okochuwu, also delivered the following remarks, “We are delighted to have Coca-Cola and USAID providing water to our people especially in areas within the state where there are water challenges. I want to assure you that as a government, we will assist your organizations in providing the needed manpower as well as the enabling environment to ensure that similar initiatives such as these succeed in Abia state.”

  • Warif gets USAID grant

    The Women at Risk International A non-governmental  organisation (NGO), Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), has been named a recipient of the grant of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Nigeria.

    This grant will be awarded through the Pathfinder platform, a global non-profit organisation that focuses on reproductive health, family planning, HIV/AIDS prevention and care, and maternal health.

    The WARIF Centre, a sexual assault referral centre (SARC) run by the organisation, is the only private NGO that got the grant to cater for sexual abuses in Lagos.

    This grant will be implemented, through the WARIF SARC, as well as the other initiatives implemented by organisation – the WARIF Educational School Programme and the WARIF Know Your Community initiative.

    The objective of this grantor alliance  is to ensure that improved medical services, psychosocial counseling, associated services, and referrals to survivors of sexual assault are provided by the SARCs. It also aims to increase awareness of sexual and gender based violence through community-based intervention, contribute to breaking the culture of silence, and reduce the overall incidence of sexual assault in the country.

    WARIF founder Dr. Kemi DaSilva- Ibru, said: “We are very proud to receive this grant from the USAID in recognition of our work in making a positive impact in the lives of the many brave survivors we have been able to reach. This funding will ensure that we continue the good work so that more survivors of rape and sexual violence are able to have access to first respondent services, which we provide at the centre.

    ‘’In addition, we will be better equipped in managing cases of sexual assault, create greater awareness and train and educate more individuals on these issues and improve the reporting rate of gender-based violence in Lagos State.”

  • USAID farm project: Farmers make N396b sales value in five years

    USAID farm project: Farmers make N396b sales value in five years

    The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Market II project designed to help rural farmers in the country has recorded sales valued at N396 billion in five years, a report presented by the USAID has stated.

    The report titled Maximizing Agricultural Revenue and Key Enterprises in Targeted Sites II (MARKET II) was made public, yesterday in Abuja at the 5-year project final event held in Abuja.

    USAID Nigeria Mission Director, Mr. Stephen Haykin disclosed during the event that about 1.9 million rural households were supported to increase productivity and finance, with special attention on women and youths between ages of 18 to 29.

    Haykin explained that the project which commenced in April 2012 and expected to end in October, 2017 was able to link farmers to processors and off-takers, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing post-harvest losses.

    He described the market II project as a deliberate plan to help realize the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the past administration and Green Alternative Policy of the Federal Government, contributing to food security and increasing incomes of rural households.

    According to him, the initiative attracted N4.9 billion private sector investment, N13.9 billion public sector investment and N52.9 billion worth of loans with 3,306,399 metric tons in volume of agricultural commodities sold by the benefiting farmers.

    Earlier, Managing Director, Market II Project, Harvey Schartup said the intervention was aimed to support rural farmers in 25 states working on seven agricultural commodities and its value-chains.

    The states include Sokoto, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, kebbi, Taraba, Niger, Nasarawa, Benue, Ebonyi, oyo, Imo, Rivers among others while the commodities are Maize, Cocoa, Cassava, Bee Keeping, Sorghum and the rest.

    He said with the intervention and adoption of improved seeds, participating farmers were able to engage in both wet season and dry season farming, especially in the area of rice.

    Schartup added that the farmers increased production to over 1.7 million metric tons of rice for the wet season and 429, 800 metric tons of rice produced for the dry season.

    He described the outputs as indications that dry season and wet season farming could help reposition the nation’s economy, adding that farmers do not have to be literate to succeed in the venture.

    He emphasized on the dry season farming, stressing that it was capable of achieving food security, mainly if supported with good policies and best agronomy.

    “We are optimistic about the prospects of agriculture. The future of Nigeria agribusiness is great. We have shown that small holders farming can be productive and profitable.

    “Farmers are smart, but they are also careful; they have to be able to provide for their families. If they see an opportunity, if they see their neighbours doing better, if they see that the methods and technologies are within their reach, they will seize it but they will; adapt and adopt,” Schartup added.

  • Private sector partnership vital to food sufficiency – Minister

    Private sector partnership vital to food sufficiency – Minister

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh has said that private sector partnership in the agriculture sector remained vital for the country to attain food sufficiency.

    Ogbeh disclosed this at the inaugural meeting of the Joint Sector Steering Committee (JSC), organised by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with the agriculture ministry yesterday in Abuja.

    He stated that it was imperative for the Federal Government to provide necessary infrastructure, control processes and oversight functions to support the private sector.

    The minister, who was represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Shehu Ahmed emphasized that the ministry was responsible to partner with major stakeholders to develop effective policies that will create conducive environment for better private sector participation in the sector.

    According to him, the JSR was to provide a platform to assess the performance and results of the agriculture sector and assist government to set sector policies and priorities.

    Ogbeh said: “The present administration has been able to put together an agriculture promotion policy. The purpose of the policy document is to provide a disciplined approach to building an agribusiness ecosystem that will stem the tide of food importation through import substitution so as to earn significant foreign exchange from agriculture.

    “The private sector will remain in the lead while government facilitates, regulates as well as provides supporting infrastructure, system, control processes and oversight.

    “It assesses how well stakeholders implemented pledges and commitment cooperation agreements in the sector. This objective is however consistent with the policy thrust of the present administration on agriculture.”

    Citing instances of nations that have adopted, the minister recalled that the African Union Commission (AUC) in 2015, assisted 11 member nations which included Benin Republic, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Swaziland, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.

    He added that the mentioned countries already took steps to strengthen mutual accountability based on findings of the JSRs conducted.

  • Food security: USAID partners Chi Farms to empower farmers

    Food security: USAID partners Chi Farms to empower farmers

    • Project to contribute 4,000 metric tones of catfish in local markets yearly

    As part of efforts to boost food security in Nigeria, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has signed an agreement with Chi Farms Limited to empower over 6,000  small holder fish , soya bean and maize farmers .

    The project is expected to contribute to Nigeria’s food security drive by adding over 4,000 metric tonnes of catfish to local markets yearly.

    According to the Executive Director, Chi Farms Limited, Martin Middernacht the agreement is part of the United States Government’s Feed the Future Initiative.

    The partnership   will enable the Chi Farms engage small holder farmers to become successful cat fish farmers as well as get the required training for industry quality standards .

    He agreement he said is part of U.S. Government’s intervention in growing Nigerian aquaculture .

    Part of the the terms of the deal, he said will see Chi Farms supply quality feed and quality cat fish juveniles to farmers to enhance the company’s feeding milling and hatching capacities .

    He said : ” This development will add positively to the overall food security in Nigeria. We are delighted that USAID has decided to support the initiative of Chi Farms.

    “At the same time, it is at the core of what we do at Chi Farms. We are convinced that working with out-growers is a step in the right direction towards sustainable economic development.”

    His counterpart from USAID, Mr Roland Oroh said: “We are very happy to work towards food security in Nigeria with our trusted partner Chi Farms.

    “USAID previously partnered with Chi Pharma, a sister company to Chi Farms, to roll out insecticide-treated nets in Nigeria.