By Justina Auta
The Association of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (ASHWAN) has empowered women living with HIV/AIDS with health and life skills to enhance their economic independence.
The exercise took place on Thursday in Abuja during a Peer-to-Peer Training of Trainers for Peer Educators, organised by ASHWAN in collaboration with UN Women and the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
Mrs Esther Hindi, National Coordinator of ASHWAN, stated that the training aimed to empower beneficiaries using an empowerment toolkit to cascade health and life skills to HIV/AIDS support groups for women nationwide.
Hindi said: “We aim to empower women living with HIV/AIDS to amplify their voices, claim their spaces, and expand their spheres of influence by developing knowledge, skills, and confidence to exercise their rights.
“This will enable them to achieve economic independence and resilience by developing skills, accessing paid employment opportunities, and addressing the burden of unpaid care work.”
Mr Martin-Mary Falana, Project Consultant, explained that the beneficiaries will cascade lessons learned to other women, boosting their economic standing.
Falana said: “The training toolkit provides a discussion guide for women living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria to use among themselves for development.
“It covers areas like their health, identity, personal development, business ideology, and how they can boost their self-esteem, among others.”
The Executive Director of Voices of Disability Initiative (VDI), Catherine Edeh, highlighted the constant discrimination and stigmatisation faced by vulnerable women and girls.
Edeh emphasised that building self-esteem and confidence, as well as inclusion in empowerment programmes, was key to their economic independence.
“At VDI, we are here to bridge the gap for women and girls with disabilities and protect their rights.”
Dr Temitope Ilori of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), represented by Esther Ikomi, Deputy Director of Policy Planning and Coordination, urged beneficiaries to make good use of the skills and training for their benefit. (NAN