Empowering people living with HIV/AIDS can address poverty in Nigeria, advocate says

Alhaja Roli Daniju, executive director of the nongovernmental organization Ajegunle Community Project, recently called on Nigerian government officials and other stakeholders to help reduce poverty in the country by empowering people living with HIV/AIDS, This Day/AllAfrica.com reports.

Daniju spoke in the capital of Lagos at the organization's one-day program, which was supported by the Global Fund for Women and called "Positive Living and Income Generation." It aimed to address the stigma surrounding women living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, as well as to create awareness among HIV-positive women about how to manage the virus on their own.

According to Daniju, people living with HIV/AIDS are "part and parcel of the society. They are just victims of circumstances but notwithstanding what an HIV-negative person can do, they can also do even better, because they have a vision, mission and are full of hope for a greater future." ACP is "keen on showing love and concern to positive living women in society" because of the HIV/AIDS-related stigma they face, Daniju said, adding that poverty in the country could be alleviated or eliminated by empowering these women (Olojo, This Day/AllAfrica.com, 10/8).