The United States Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria on Friday said it had granted N2.9m to 50 women caregivers to support children orphaned by victims of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
The beneficiaries were selected from five communities in the Apapa Local Government Area of Lagos State, a statement said.
The statement added that the US-Nigeria partnership on HIV/AIDS began in 2004 through the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and that between 2004 and 2016, the US support for HIV prevention, care, treatment, and support programmes in Nigeria had totalled over $4.3bn.
In its latest donation under the PEPFAR Small Grants Programme, the US said a non-governmental organisation, Blissful Life for Women and Children, would provide training to the beneficiaries in the areas of business and vocational skills and trade mentorship, and would receive trade articles and supplies.
According to the statement, the Acting US Consul General Will Steuer said, “The people and government of the United States continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Nigeria and Nigerian families in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
“Today’s event highlights the importance of supporting families, especially children who are affected by HIV/AIDS through programmes that not only support treatment for the infected, but also to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of families affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, as the PEPFAR Small Grants Programme seeks to do.”
Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
