Association of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (ASHWAN) has rolled out an empowerment project for women living with HIV and other vulnerable groups by providing life skills and start-up packs for Small and Medium Enterprises, (SMEs), to enhance their economic independence.
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Assistant National Secretary, ASWHAN, Helen Akpan, said the project is aimed at boosting the financial independence to enable the women alleviate the current hardship faced by members and provide them with source of livelihood.

She stated this at a two-day training workshop organized in partnership with the United Nations Women and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, (SMEDAN), in Abuja.

She pointed that 50 FCT women will be trained on poultry farming, Ice block business and others, adding that start-up packs and other equipment will be given to them to facilitate the training they acquired.

“We are training women living with HIV and other vulnerable women with economic and skills acquisition for sustainability and to alleviate poverty.

“This will help in sustaining household livelihood for these women and their children especially amidst the dwindling economy, which has overwhelmed a lot of people’s financial capacity,” she explained.
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Akpan said that there is a need for this class of women to have skills and economic empowerment, which will take care of their nutrition, drugs and other hospital services required.

The women, she adds, he would be grouped into clusters to form a cooperative, which will enable them access loans and other services that would make them more financially independent and generate income.

She said “This is going to be extended to other states because we want to change the narratives for our members regarding depending on others, which is one of the causes of Gender Based Violence (GBV),” she said.

Principal Administration Officer, SMEDAN, Susan Jezreel, said that her agency s bringing into the partnership training for the beneficiaries on the various SMESs they have been grouped into. “On the part of SMEDAN, we are going to work with ASHWAN and the women to see how we can train and empower them on skills for entrepreneurship.

“We are not just training them for two days a d then leave them, we will keep visiting the cooperative groups to monitor their progress at intervals and continue to give them trainings where needed, some online and for some physical trainings.

“If they have just been given money and they don’t have the requisite skills to invest in and manage their businesses, it will go down the drain but we want to see their business dream comes true that is why we are undertaking this training.

Speaking on Innovative ideas to boost the businesses of the participants, Chief Executive Officer, Kids & Teens Resource centre and facilitator of the training Martin-Mary Falana, said the participants would also be empowered on identifying profitable business opportunities, innovative ideas for marketing and selling, as well as how to form and manage a Village Savings and Loan (VSLA).
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“The women will be able to lay their hands on things that can improve their livelihood, especially as they will be given startup equipment to fend for themselves. “It will also improve their socio-economic development and ensure they earn what they can use to fend for themselves and their younger ones, children and wards,” he said.

Falana adds that the women after being grouped into committee that will assist them with the village savings and loans Association, they can make contributions and then gather it to help one another. “This will go a long way to at least alleviate poverty, generate income and make them self-reliant,” he said

While, encouraging other stakeholders to continue to support vulnerable groups, he urged the participants, saying: ”Living with HIV is not the end of life because of one’s status. HIV does not have anything to do with their brain. They can still use their hand to do a lot of businesses. “They need help from other financial institutions to bring down the cost of interest in accessing loan so that they can do something with their lives.”

One of the beneficiaries Stella Ebeh-Obianuju, said empowering women living with HIV/AIDS will make them less vulnerable, victims of GBV and enable them live a healthy.

Ebeh-Obianuju said “I believe if we are empowered, we will be able to stand on our own, train our children, live a healthy and productive life. “I believe that after this empowerment training and with support, we will be able to stand on our own and be financial dependent, not relying on anyone.”
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