USAID ends $45.3 programme for kids orphaned by AIDS

The United States Agency for International Development, (USAID) has concluded a five-year activity that provided support for 500,000 children orphaned or made vulnerable by the AIDS epidemic, and 125,000 of their caregivers.

At a ceremony yesterday in Abuja, USAID disclosed that since 2013, the $45.3 million Sustainable Mechanisms for Improving Livelihoods (SMILE) activity, funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), scaled up support services for orphans and vulnerable children (in 47 local government areas across Benue, Edo, Kogi, and Nassawara states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Zohra Balsara, Director of the USAID Office of HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis Control, along with some state commissioners of women affairs and social development said “support to these vulnerable populations is critical for the future of Nigeria, a country whose human capital is its greatest strength,”.

A representative of Ifeoma Anagbogu, Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry for Women Affairs and Social Development also attended the event.