Children of Hope Project

Nigeria has one of the largest orphans and vulnerable children populations in the world, approximately 17 million, including over two million children orphaned because of HIV/AIDS.  Nigeria’s National Guidelines on Orphans and Vulnerable Children (2008) documented that national health policies do not support free services, and nutrition among these children is generally poor. They do not receive nutritional support; school-related costs limit their access to education, health care and clean water; and their caregivers lack knowledge about their needs. 

 

The Children of Hope project was launched in 2008, and is supported by the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) New Partners Initiative; and it is implemented through a partnership between the European Cooperative for Rural Development and Widows and Orphans Empowerment Organization (WEWE). 

 

The Children of Hope project is implemented in Edo, Imo, Oyo, Abia, Ebonyi States and the Federal Capital to meet the nutrition, protection, education, and psychological support needs of 12,000 orphans and vulnerable children, and link 4,000 caregivers to loans and income generating activities. The project also conducts HIV sexual prevention activities targeting 10,000 individuals and capacity building programs for staff and partners. 

 

Children of Hope is also collaborating with Maximizing Agricultural Revenues for Key Enterprises in Target States (MARKETS), USAID’s Economic Growth activity to provide food support to OVCs, and train care givers in income generation activities. The Society for Family Health (SFH) supports HIV prevention activities; Nigerian Breweries provide malt drinks for nutritional support; while Bank PHB donates educational materials to the project.  Through the Children of Hope project, the European Cooperative for Rural Development improves the quality of life of OVC and reduces the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in their communities; strengthens the technical and organizational capacity of WEWE and ten implementing service partners to design, implement, manage, evaluate and expand delivery of HIV/AIDS services.