FACA holds workshop for AIDS support groups

January 19, 2007 :: Abubakar Yakubu & Sunday Williams, Daily Trust ,Abuja

A three-day training workshop on 'national response information management system for monitoring and evaluation officers of various HIV/AIDS organisation,' began yesterday in Abuja.

The workshop was organised by the FCT Action Committee on AIDS (FACA) in collaboration with the FCT HIV / AIDS project team.

Welcoming participants to the event, the Project Manager, Dr Isah Vatsa described the Aids project as complex. "The HIV / AIDS project is complex because Aids keep changing its form and must be monitored," he said.

He urged the participants to be truthful when monitoring and evaluating AIDS projects in communities. "When writing evaluation reports, you must be sincere and must have a clear conscience," he said.

The project manager advised the participants to adopt a serious approach to their duties in various communities, adding that each community they visit in Abuja need more intervention.

"You must let community members know why you are in their place and enlighten as well as educate them on HIV / Aids," he said.

The project manager warned participants that if their performance is below expectation, they may be asked to refund the money given to them for the project.

The main aim of the workshop is to enable the AIDS project team facilitate the systematic collection, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information on Aids in a manner that meets the needs of the country.

An organisation that benefits from FACA's programme is Faith Based. The organisation's tentacles are spread round the FCT with Afemai group at Bwari, and Mashkur in Ido- Sarki. Both groups engage in educating, giving psychological and moral supports to Aids victims.

Mashkur project manager, Hajis Maryem Dada Ibrahim said the organisation has made efforts to emancipate the people of Giri, Dalatu, Gwagwalada by giving them training on nutrition.