15th July, 2014
Simon Ateba
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Monday ended one of its programmes for orphans and venerable children in Nigeria, saying that at least 50,000 beneficiaries were touched during the five-year programme.
The programme, known as USAID’s Community-based Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (CUBS), was a five-year activity funded by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through USAID.
It was implemented by Management Sciences for Health in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Development, Africare, 11 state ministries of women’s affairs and social development, and 38 civil society organizations.
Photo: usaid.gov
“CUBS, through a variety of community-based, family-centered approaches, successfully reached close to 50,000 children in 12,500 households, providing food/nutrition, health, education, shelter, psychosocial care, protection, and skills,” US Mission said in a statement.
The statement quoted Mission Director of the USAID in Nigeria, Michael T. Harvey as saying that USAID would continue to facilitate lasting partnerships and systems to promote tangible policies for Nigerian orphans and vulnerable children.
He said despite the end of CUBS, the work for disadvantaged children in Nigeria is far from over.
“The work for disadvantaged children in Nigeria is far from over. We know this because the 2013 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey indicates that nine per cent of children in Nigeria are orphans or are vulnerable due to illnesses of adult household members,” he said.
Harvey added that USAID would continue to work with the government of Nigeria on successor programs. He was joined by the Minister of Women’s Affairs Hajia Zainab Maina to mark the end of the programme.
The statement said vulnerable families also received access to small-scale businesses that ensured sustainability of these efforts far beyond the official end of CUBS activity.
At the policy level, CUBS supported the implementation of Nigeria’s National Priority Agenda for Vulnerable Children.