Our activities with marginalized, vulnerable people beyond measure – Heartland Alliance

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

A non-governmental organisation, Heartland Alliance International (HAI) Nigeria, has said that its activities the marginalized and vulnerable people in the country were beyond measure.
It said in the past 10 years, it has engaged in intervention projects toward championing the cause of the needy and hard-to-reach populations including men, women, youths, and key population groups across Nigeria.
HAI Nigeria said its interventions are aimed at mitigating the physiological, psychosocial and economic impact of living with HIV/AIDS and, the injustices and abuses suffered by these groups.
The organization in a statement issued by its Country Director/Chief of Party, Bartholomew Ochonye in Abuja, said the decade old inspiring work has been undertaken through a strategic approach of targeted education, advocacy, capacity building, economic empowerment, HIV treatment and prevention and the protection of the human rights of vulnerable and marginalised individuals.
According to Ochonye, “To showcase the successes recorded, best practices adopted and lessons learned from the incredible work that has been done in the process of providing access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support to these key populations in Nigeria, and the partnership forged with various Community Based Organisations (CBOs), an open house event was held. It had in attendance several development partners and members of the diplomatic corps including David Young (United States Embassy), Chelsea Buurman (Netherlands Embassy), Stephen Haykin (USAID), Onyinye Ndubuisi (UNDP), Amee Schwitters (CDC) and Erasmus Morah (UNAIDS) among others.”
He said: “HAI has implemented programmes in different states across the six geopolitical zones of the country: Akwa Ibom, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Enugu, FCT, Kaduna, Kano, Nasarawa, and Rivers. Currently the ‘Integrated Most at Risk Populations HIV Prevention Program’ (IMHIPP) funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID -2009-2018) is under implementation.”