Ongoing-Programs

Facilitating the Implementation of Family life and HIV/AIDS Education in Schools of North Central Zone of Nigeria

Duration:        December 2005 – Present
Funder:           American Jewish World Service (AJWS)

The 2001 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS sought to ensure that by 2010, at least 95% of the world’s youth have access to information and education necessary to reduce their vulnerability to AIDS.  School based programs can potentially reach a large number of young people, especially where school enrollment rates are high.  The Family Life and HIV/AIDS Education (FLHE) is an example of such strategy specifically developed to suit the Nigerian context. 
FLHE aims to provide young people with knowledge, positive attitudes and skills to foster behavior change and thus reduce their risk to HIV/AIDS and other reproductive complications. However, this curriculum is not being implemented and young people are left with the option of getting information from alternative sources.  The implementation of the curriculum is the responsibility of educational authorities, schools and teachers in the states.  Given the guidelines established by the Federal Ministry of Education, all schools are expected to begin implementation of the nationally developed FLHE curriculum.  However several states including Benue, Nassarawa and the Federal Capital Territory are not compliant.  Research assessment reveals that significant progress has been made by the three states to commence the implementation of the curriculum but the following factors currently inhibits the implementation of the curriculum.  Lack of political commitment to make budgetary allocation to support the implementation of the curriculum thus reducing the amount of financial resources available; inadequate materials and teaching aids for teachers to use in classroom delivery; insufficient technical support for training teachers and limited capacity for monitoring classroom delivery as well as its impact were identified as limiting factors.
The advocacy project aims to facilitate the implementation of the Family Life HIV/AIDS Curriculum in junior and senior high schools in the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), Benue and Nassarawa states.  EVA is strategically placed to initiative and implement such an initiative based its significant experience in implementing school based curriculums (Youth AIDS Curriculum and Youth Reproductive Health Curriculum) The advocacy strategy developed consisted of series of activities that will enhance the formation of strong partnership with relevant stakeholders that will break existing barriers and influence policy makers to begin the implementation of the FLHE as a comprehensive strategy to reduce the increasing incidence of HIV amongst young people.  The project works to increase stakeholders support for the curriculum and provide technical, material as well as financial resources to commence classroom delivery of the curriculum in these three states, with a special focus on schools located in rural/resource poor communities.
Since the commencement of the project in 2005, the project has made significant strides in achieving its goal and objectives.  To date the project has achieved the following: increased FCT stakeholders’ awareness, including the parents, religious leaders, media organizations, civil society organizations and young people themselves, about FLHE program and its benefits Click to view media articles written; provision of FLHE material, including copies of national curriculum, guidelines, scheme of work/lesson plans and IEC materials to the FCT Education Secretariat and Benue State Ministry of Education and supporting the training of 20 Benue state teachers to deliver the curriculum at classroom level in two local government areas.  This activity has official led to the implementation of FLHE in Benue state for the very 1st time.  

Educational Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children

Duration:        October 2005 – Ongoing
Funder:           Donations from Individuals

The AIDS epidemic is significantly affecting the lives of vulnerable children and making more children vulnerable, thus affecting their quality of life.  In Nigeria, UNICEF statistics reveal that the number of orphans in the country is expected to rise to 6.7 million by 2010.  HIV/AIDS is threatening to reverse decades of progress achieved in providing basic education for children and young people.  For example, children may stop attending school in order to assist caregivers with food production and other household responsibilities or may be withdrawn from school because they are unable to pay the school fees and other educational costs.  To help reduce the vulnerability of children, it is critical to create structures that will enable children to stay in school and to re-enroll school-drops back into school. 
As a result of the organization’s community level work targeting Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in Benue state click to learn more about the Window of Hope Project, it was observed that all the children in the project, over 1000 kids between the ages of 8-13 years, were out-of-schools.  Nigeria recently passed into law the 2004 Universal Basic Education Act, which led to the creation of the UBE program that aims to provide free and compulsory education for all children.  However the implementation and monitoring of this program is significantly lacking at the state and local government levels.  Although the payment of “school fees” has been abolished, children and families are still required to pay user fees/levies, which have inhibited the attainment of education in most communities.
Working the media and education authorities at the state level, the EVA project team has raises public awareness of the educational needs of orphans and vulnerable children.  A comprehensive community database of school drop-outs have been complied and forwarded to the state Ministry of Education for action.  The organization is currently working with Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA) and Civil Society Network on HIV/AIDS (CISNHAN) to push the agenda for the elimination of educational user fees at the government level.  As an intermediary action, the organization recently established an educational fund, Dooshima Education Fund, to provide basic education support in the form of fees, uniforms and books to the most need OVC in various communities in Benue and Nassarawa state.

Title:          Publications and Research
Duration:        Ongoing
Funders:         Varies

As an integral component of program development and implementation, the organization routinely conducts research and document best practices emanating from its fieldwork.  These finding are documented in publications that are used to inform program delivery or advocacy issues to be addressed. Click here to view publications page