ACET Partnerships in Nigeria

Nigeria is a country the size of California with a population of 130 million of which 42% are under 15 years old. Average life expectancy is only 50 years and one in 10 children die shortly after birth. Nigeria has oil wealth and an average per capita income of $1,000 a year, but oil has not helped internal stability, nor changed the situation for millions of very poor people at the margins of survival While Nigeria has a population 6 times the size of Uganda, the response to rapid spread of HIV and AIDS has yet to reach that seen in Uganda over a decade ago.

ACET's work in Nigeria is a parnership with SUWA which has a range of HIV / AIDS programmes and partnerships including a schools project which has reached around 4 million children. ACET International Alliance has already funded the printing of many thousands of AIDS resource books in English and Hausa (spoken by 29% of the country), to help mobilise churches across the nation and beyond.

Christian and Muslim communities are both very large, and faith-based organisations are a vital part of the fight against AIDS. The churches are well-organised with huge resources in terms of community projects, hospitals, clinics, schools and informal programmes. It is not unusual for leaders conferences to be attended by more than 10,000 people, or for groups of churches to be able to bring together more than a million people in a single gathering. Mobilising faith-based communities is a vital part of our strategy to save lives and help those affected by AIDS.

Every year, more than 300,000 adults die from AIDS-related causes in Nigeria. 6% of adults have HIV, with 3.3 million adults carrying the infection and 300,000 children. Alhough HIV levels are lower than some nearby countries, on current trends the infection levels could rise to more than 15%, unless urgent action is taken.

SUWA also assists projects as needed in neighbouring countries such as Sierra Leone, which they visited twice in 2005.