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Muslim leaders promote and practice family planning in Nasarawa state (pdf, 63.6kb)

Despite high-level campaigns promoting the benefits of family planning, convincing people of the benefits sometimes presents a challenge. With a high fertility rate of averaging 5.8
children per women, and an annual population growth of 2.8%, the country remains the most populous nation in Africa at over 140 million. This has dire implications for the already stretched public infrastructure and services. Health facilities in the country's vast rural areas are scarce, understaffed and undersupplied. Where services do exist, cultural and social pressures limit women's ability to use them, especially in conservative communities like Unguwa Waje, a rural community located in Keffi local government area inNasarawa state.

Rural social entrepreneur boosts immunization coverage (pdf, 69.9kb)

Tucked securely in a canoe, mothers and children chorused traditional songs as they traveled to the nearest routine immunization post some 8 kilometers away from Ajara, a remote rural community in Badagry local government area in Lagos state. It was another immunization day and as usual, the capable hands of sixty-five-year-old J.J. Koklanu paddled them around the floating logs that obstructed the river.

Data provokes traditional ruler, boosts polio immunizations (pdf, 58.7kb)

The people of Birnin-Magaji, a rural local government area in Zamfara state in northern Nigeria, are mainly farmers, traders, and herders. The population is highly mobile to meet the demands of daily living. This raises the risk of transmissible diseases such as polio which can leave children with permanent disability, especially those who have not received the required doses of vaccines.

Radio Deejays Tell Listeners, "I've Been Tested! About You?" (pdf, 1.07mb)

RADIO DEEJAYS IN NIGERIA’S THREE biggest cities are delivering lifesaving messages to an audience of nearly 40 million people—most of them youth—after learning how to integrate HIV/AIDS information into their broadcasts at training courses funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through USAID.

USG equips women to fight HIV/AIDS in Bauchi (pdf, 15kb)

In Bauchi, northern Nigeria, Momi and Nibi (not their real names) have made personal commitments in support of the national HIV/AIDS response by retiring from commercial sex work. This retirement was made possible through a United States Government (USG) funded project managed by USAID/Nigeria that provides women like Momi and Nibi with training in business and vocational skills. With these skills, they can receive grants to help them start their own income-generating activities which will enable them live healthier, safer lives.

With skills come brighter prospects (pdf 52kb)

Amina Abdullahi sat on a wooden stool in a crowded workshop. With a slight smile, she held a hand-dyed cotton cloth on its edge, guiding it through the new sewing machine. As she pushed the cloth, one could see that both her hands were slightly twisted.

She is just one of thousands who have contracted polio, an infectious, viral disease that invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis. Many of those who have contracted polio face discrimination in Nigeria and find it difficult to lead a normal life. For Amina, the situation worsened when her father died and she became the sole provider for her family. Although trained as a tailor, she could not find employers who would let her practice in their shop. “I gave up hope of ever learning anything, as no one would accept me. And, with my father’s demise, the future looked bleak,” she said.

Nigerian rice farmers: Making money and feeding the country (pdf, 59kb)

Nigerians consume about 5.4 million metric tons of rice annu-ally (valued at $9.2 billion at current prices), while local produc-tion only amounts to about 2.3 million metric tons per year. The remaining 3.1 million metric tons is imported, making Nigeria the second largest importer of rice in the world. The key problem facing the rice sub-sector is lack of competitiveness result-ing from low and uneconomic productivity, poor access to expensive inputs (especially fertilizers and credit), low capacity to meet quality standards and little or no encouragement of pri-vate sector participation. Poised to reverse this trend, the gov-ernment of Nigeria developed farmer-friendly policies with the Presidential Initiative on Rice.

"As free as a bird" - Thanks to USAID fistula care project (pdf, 45kb)

Until August 2008, thirty-two-year-old Elizabeth (not her real name) had lived with fistula for half of her life. Long after giving up hope of a remedy, she heard on the radio that women could receive fistula surgery at the Faridat Yakubu Fistula Center, Gusau in Zamfara state as a result of U.S. assistance through USAID.

Letter from Nigeria: USAID's assistance to orphans and vulnerable children (pdf, 54.2kb)

Mrs. Agnes Oreye is a 43 year old widow with four children. She lives in Agenebode, Edo state where she also plays the role of a caregiver to two other children who lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. In spite of her relatively poor circumstances, she copes with life, feeding her family from the proceeds of her trade in staple foodstuff (rice and cowpea) provided by USAID/Nigeria as an income generating grant.