The National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, has strengthened the capacity of stakeholders in Cross River State on human rights, gender and legal literacy as part of efforts to improve the state's HIV response.
The five-day training, held at the Marian Hotel Conference Hall in Calabar, brought together the Cross River State Agency for the Control of AIDS, CR-SACA, government institutions, implementing and development partners, law enforcement agencies, human rights actors and community representatives.
Declaring the training open, the Director-General of CR-SACA, Dr Charles Iwara, stressed the need for stronger collaboration among stakeholders in addressing issues affecting vulnerable populations.
He said the Human Rights and Gender Response Team provides an opportunity for stakeholders to assess their activities, identify gaps and improve their interventions.
Also speaking, NACA representative, Mrs Favour Iyamu, said the training was designed to help stakeholders assess their interventions from gender and human-rights perspectives and strengthen their approaches to meeting the needs of vulnerable populations.
The training, facilitated by Emeka Nwafor of NACA, featured sessions on protection from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, access to justice, legal literacy, discrimination and non-discriminatory healthcare services.
Participants also examined barriers faced by vulnerable populations in accessing justice and healthcare, particularly those seeking HIV, tuberculosis and malaria services.
The engagement ended with a call for stakeholders to apply the knowledge gained and integrate human-rights and gender considerations into HIV interventions across Cross River State.
