http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/51707
I behold his face like the rising sun, coming forth,

I behold his face shinning bright, shedding the light,

I behold his face imparting joy and gladness,

I behold his face glowing, providing selfless service.


I behold his face breaking barriers, providing illumination,

I behold his face radiating like a captain at the forefront,

I behold his face providing encouragement, support and inspiration to all,

I behold his face… in the twinkling of an eye, like the dusk, it sets.


I behold his face, grieved but peaceful,

I behold his face, focused steadfastly on the glory ahead,

I behold his face, though at a glimpse yet leaving a permanent memory,

I behold his face, at the bosom of our Lord saying “do your best while you can”.


Omololu Falobi, Rest in Peace.

Mayowa Joel
+234 803 334 5378
mayowajoel@yahoo.com
]]> Thu, 19 Oct 2006 09:14:00 EDT http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/51707 6.4530556 3.39583336.45305563.3958333 http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/43777
It was truly a night of splendour as guests and dignitaries walked in majestically. The beautiful hall, the bright lights, the paparazzi all added glamour to the occasion. The audience were exceptionally very attractive and the hall could hardly contain them. A second look at the entire event will classify it as another Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) Pageant, especially with the presence of the television crew from Silverbird Entertainment – the organizers of the MBGN Contest.

It was truly a special occasion, as it was the first of its kind in the history of the most populous black nation in the world that boasts of over 120 million people with 5.0% HIV prevalence rate and almost 4 million people living with HIV AIDS (PLWHA). It was a night that the organisers and the participants will always remember; it was the opening night of the one-week photo exhibition tagged – “Positive Faces” organised by Treatment Action Movement (TAM), Lagos and Medicine Sans Frontieres (MSF), Lagos which was held at the Terra Kulture – the Nigerian Cultural Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Friday, September 15, 2006.

It is a known fact that denial of the truth about HIV AIDS, stigma and discrimination against PLWHA are major factors responsible for the increase in the spread of HIV infection in the country and these have continued to undermine the tremendous efforts by the major stakeholders in promoting HIV AIDS prevention, testing, treatment and most importantly behaviour change. This situation is further worsened when people deny the reality of HIV AIDS just because they have not seen a person living with HIV AIDS.

The need to address these challenges and also promote the availability and efficacy of HIV treatment is what prompted TAM and MSF to organise the photo exhibition which was a great success in all ramification. The most beautiful people at the occasion were the PLWHA in the photo portraits who volunteered for such a public event. The courage and boldness expressed by everybody in the portrait is rather outstanding and has contributed greatly to eroding denial and demystifying stigma and discrimination against PLWHA.

Events like this are needed in Nigeria if we have to stop the spread of HIV infection and begin to reverse the cases of AIDS in the country. Definitely, PLWHA coming out to talk openly about their status and share real life experiences for the benefit of others are indeed the beautiful ones!

If we intensify our efforts against stigma and discrimination against PLWHA, I believe that one day in this great country, an openly positive person will win the coveted crown as the MBGN – it could be the next edition!

Mayowa Joel
Treatment Action Movement (TAM), Lagos
Phone - +234 803 334 5378
Email - mayowajoel@yahoo.com

]]> Wed, 20 Sep 2006 07:55:00 EDT http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/43777 6.4530556 3.39583336.45305563.3958333 http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/42620
Though the end of year 2006 is still four months away, yet the most unforgettable three hours I had spent this year was in one of the most unusual places – the Maximum Security Prison at Ikoyi, Lagos. It was such an exciting, challenging and emotional experience that I wish to go back again and again.

The day was August 26, 2006 and it was a beautiful Saturday morning as necessary arrangements had been made for the planned HIV AIDS outreach program for the inmates at the prison. It was organized by the Youth Internship programme of Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS), in collaboration with the Treatment Action Movement (TAM) Lagos and Nigeria Youth AIDS Programme (NYAP) Lagos.

After going through the rigorous but necessary security checks and brief introduction to some of the inmates, the program eventually commenced with the auditorium packed to the full. It was not the usual programme for many of us and we were excited and surprised that in spite of the challenges associated with the environment, the event was very well packaged and implemented by the inmates.

The uniqueness of the program was in the receptiveness and enthusiasm shown by the inmates throughout the program including a very high display of intelligence and maturity.

The inmates, who were members of the prison Anti-AIDS group, did a great job in educating the audience about HIV AIDS through a drama and song presentation. The drama which was the highlight of the event was quite unique as it was role-play containing basically all the necessary information about HIV AIDS. The drama specifically discouraged stigma and discrimination against People Living with HIV AIDS (PLWHA) and encouraged Prevention, Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT), Treatment, Care and Support especially for HIV-positive Men having Sex with Men (MSM).

So, though it was a successful program, yet I left with more questions than answers and that is the more reason why I want to go back again. The facts are:

- Some of the inmates are HIV-positive either before or during imprisonment;
- Some are having unprotected sexual intercourse especially men having sex with men;
- Sooner or later some of these inmates either HIV positive or not will be released and will go back to their families or eventually have one.

The question is, what are we going to do to:

- provide appropriate information, skills and resources to ensure that the inmates protect themselves from contracting HIV;
- Provide Voluntary Counselling and Testing services;
- Ensure that inmates who test positive to HIV have adequate access to treatment and are not being stigmatised;
- Ensure continuity and sustainability in the prevention and treatment services offered to inmates who are either released or still in prison?

These and many other facts and questions above are those that have kept me awake and made me decide to want to go back again knowing fully well that at least one more person will have the right information to protect himself and also see my friends bound together only by HIV AIDS.

Mayowa Joel
Phone: +234 803 334 5378
Email: mayowajoel@yahoo.com

]]> Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:34:00 EDT http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/42620 6.4530556 3.39583336.45305563.3958333 http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/41568
Providing accurate information on HIV AIDS prevention and treatment to every member of the society is the key to reducing the spread of the virus and mitigating the impact of the disease.

However, HIV AIDS information dissemination is sometimes segregated and adulterated as many people who need to be regularly and correctly informed about it are being left out. And due to the assumptions many people have of these people, only very few AIDS-service organizations include them in their programme implementation.

Treatment Action Movement (TAM) Lagos, - the civil society group spearheading activities on access to treatment and services in Nigeria- started working with the African Shrine in 2005 by conducting outreach programme in collaboration with the management of the African Shrine. The African Shrine is a special musical club based in Ikeja, the capital of Lagos State, Nigeria and it is reputable for the best Afro-beat music in the world. Of course the president of the Shrine, Femi Anikulapo-Kuti who is also the HIV/AIDS Ambassador for United Nations Children’s Fund is the son of the Afro-beat legend – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

TAM through its outreach program has been providing regular information including counselling and referral services on HIV AIDS prevention, testing and treatment. The audience were also encouraged to be adequately protected from contracting HIV by ensuring correct and consistent use of condom.

The counselling session held on Sunday, July 30 was quite unique as the entire programme for the day was dedicated to one-to-one counselling and distribution of IEC materials in English and local languages. The management and crew of the African Shrine also joined in providing relevant information and distributing IEC materials among the people at the shrine.

Though reaching out to certain category of people in the society can be more challenging yet, AIDS-service organizations are encouraged to reach out to all the nook and crannies of the society especially the highly vulnerable groups and provide comprehensive information on HIV AIDS prevention, testing and treatment using appropriate strategies suitable for each target audience.]]> Fri, 04 Aug 2006 08:17:00 EDT http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/41568 6.4530556 3.39583336.45305563.3958333 http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/40878
The first indigenous Volunteer Management Workshop by GIVE from GIVE and for GIVE took place at Kafachan, Kaduna. Participants at the workshop include representatives from AIDS-service organizations, College of Medicine and School of Nursing.

Greater Involvement in Volunteering Effort (GIVE) Nigeria is the coalition of civil society group promoting volunteering in Nigeria.

The workshop was organized by Fantsuam Foundation with support from Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) Nigeria was facilitated by Mayowa Joel, Lagos State and Martin-Mary Falana, Ondo State.

The two-day highly participatory and educative workshop explores all the major components of Volunteering and Volunteer Management including:

+ Understanding Volunteering
+ Importance of and Reasons for Volunteering
+ Components of effective Volunteer Management System
+ Volunteer Policy
+ Volunteer Recruitment I – Volunteer Job Descriptions
+ Volunteer Recruitment II – Marketing your Volunteer Program
+ Volunteer Recruitment III – Volunteer Assessment
+ Volunteer Contract
+ Volunteer Orientation
+ Motivation, Retention and Recognition of Volunteers
+ Overseas Volunteering
+ Employee Volunteering

The participants’ knowledge and skill on volunteering and volunteer management were greatly enhanced as also promised to be fully committed to volunteering as individual and in their respective organizations and institutions.

At the end of the workshop, Prof. John Dada – the President of Fantsuam Foundation promised to consolidate the knowledge and ideas accumulated during the training to promote community empowerment and development.

With the success of this training, it is obvious that GIVE Nigeria has to come to stay and we can take volunteering to greater heights in our society.

]]> Wed, 19 Jul 2006 11:42:00 EDT http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/40878 6.4530556 3.39583336.45305563.3958333 http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/39767
At the end of day one of the First TB-HIV Advocacy Workshop taking place in Cape Town, South Africa; stakeholders comprising activists, health professionals and development partners are advocating for better diagnostics for TB infection especially among People Living with HIV.

The workshop being organized by Treatment Action Campaign, South Africa and Treatment Action Group, New York has over seventy participants from different countries in Africa.

The goal of the of the workshop are to:
1, Education. To share information on TB and HIV research, prevention, treatment and policy: and to initiate and build upon strategies to disseminate information about TB/HIV co infection within Africa through developing skills necessary to help communities understand, participate in, and provide input into research and treatment programmes.

2, Networking. To provide opportunities for Africa-based TB and HIV Community advocates to develop working relationships each other, WHO representatives, researchers, and other involved with TB and HIV/AIDS control to effectively represent affected communities.

3, Advocacy and resource mobilization. To provide opportunities for Africa- based TB and HIV community advocates to learn about examples and strategies to mobilize communities, policymakers, and resources to better fight TB/HIV at the country and regional levels, and participates in Global policy initiatives as well as to discuss their own plans to do so.

One recurring issue during the day’s session is the need to ensure better diagnostics of TB infection especially among PLWHA. Though TB is curable, but it is still the leading cause of death among PLWHA, hence there is need to: promote more collaborative TB-HIV initiatives; ensure the integration of TB in HIV intervention programs; increase funding for TB-HIV projects; create more awareness within the community on TB-HIV especially through media partnership; and ensure active civil society participation in TB-HIV policy-making and program implementation.

Telephone: +27. 735. 952. 792]]> Tue, 20 Jun 2006 12:23:00 EDT http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/39767 6.4530556 3.39583336.45305563.3958333 http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/39211 billion young people”


The pre-UNGASS+5 2006 youth summit held on Monday and
Tuesday, May 29 and 30 is significant in the history
of UNGASS.

“Having the youth caucus as part of the UNGASS+5 on
HIV AIDS is an improvement over the past” - Dr.
Thoraya Obaid – Executive Director, UNFPA.

The Youth Summit was organized by Advocates for Youth
and Global Youth Coalition on AIDS with support from
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The summit
provided the platform for almost sixty (60) youth
leaders from various countries to learn, network and
strategize on how to ensure that youth issues are
properly incorporated into the Political Declaration
that will emerge from the UNGASS.

The goal of the summit is to empower the youth leaders
attending the 2006 AIDS review to inform, educate and
influence government with regard to funding,
programmes and/ or policies for youth and HIV/AIDS.

Sessions at the youth summit were facilitated by
experts, researchers, youth leaders and adult allies.
Some of the sessions include:

- Overview of UN System – Sarah Ganter, UNFPA
- Responding to the Global AIDS Epidemic: The UN
System – Mary Otieno, UNFPA
- Review of UNGASS 2001 – Nicole Chetam, Avocates for
Youth
- The Effectiveness of interventions to achieve the
Global Goals on HIV/AIDS among young people in low and
middle-income countries – Jane Fergusson, WHO
- Unite for Chilren, Unite Against AIDS: Moving
Forward – HIV Prevention Programming with an for
adolescents – UNICEF
- Lobbying UN Missions – Zonny Woods, IWHC and Shannon
Kowalski, FCI
- Media and how to build your messages – Victor
Bernhardtz (YC) and Edford Mutuna (AFRiYAN/GYCA)

The highpoints at the youth summit were the
interactive sessions the youth leaders had with major
stakeholders working on preventing and mitigating the
impact of HIV/AIDS among young people. These include
Dr. Thoraya Obaid – Executive Director, UNFPA; Dr.
Peter Piot – Executive Director, UNAIDS; Dr. Fama Ba -
Director, African Division, UNFPA and James Wagoner -
President, Advocates for Youth.

In their various presentations and comments, they
reaffirm their conviction that young people are the
solution to the HIV/AIDS epidemic facing the world.
They inspired the youth leaders to rise up to the
challenges and make the world free of HIV/AIDS.

“We need to make sure that the goal of the world is
that no young person is getting infected with HIV” –
Dr. Peter Piot, UNAIDS

“Whatever decision you take, you have to make sure it
is because you feel comfortable with it” – Dr. Thoraya
Obaid, UNFPA

“If comprehensive information doesn’t empower, then
ignorance won’t” – James Wagoner – Advocates for
Youth.

Participants at the Youth Summit were highly inspired
by the words of encouragement by the leaders and are
also working to present the youth position paper to
the world leaders attending the UNGASS.

]]> Sat, 03 Jun 2006 11:44:00 EDT http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/39211 6.4530556 3.39583336.45305563.3958333 http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/39177
hello all,

You are welcome to the much anticipated United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on AIDS, otherwise known as UNGASS+5, taking place in New York.

UNGASS+5 will review the historic UNGASS on AIDS in 2001 to take stock of progress made in implementing the UN Declaration of commitment on HIV AIDS blueprint for global action on AIDS. The High-level meeting on AIDS is also taking place as the world marks 25 years of AIDS. The pre-UNGASS+5 Youth Summit is also scheduled for May 29 30 before the main event slated for May 31 EJune 2, 2006.

The 2001 Declaration of Commitment (DoC) was the first worldwide pledge to address the HIV and AIDS pandemic. It stressed partnership among all sectors of society Efrom governments and the UN system to business, labour, faith-based organizations, the media and people living with HIV and AIDS.

Member states committed themselves to stimulate and work with these partnerships in order to fulfill the DoC target guidelines for: leadership, prevention, care, support, treatment, human rights, reducing vulnerability, research and development, reaching regions affected by conflict or disasters, resources and follow-up monitoring.

In December 2005, the United Nations Member states agreed to undertake a comprehensive review of the progress achieved in realizing the targets set out in the 2001 DoC. The DoC says that civil society groups, including people living with HIV and faith-based organizations must be active participants in UNGASS implementation, monitoring and reporting.

However, due to the inability of many people (especially members of the civil society) to secure funding or visas to attend the event, I will be providing daily update on the events.

The daily update will include important highlights from: sessions, meetings and side events, comments from major stakeholders and other delegates, and other relevant details.

The opinions expressed in the daily updates are strictly personal opinions.

Thank you as we work together to make a positive change!
]]> Fri, 02 Jun 2006 17:33:00 EDT http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/39177 6.4530556 3.39583336.45305563.3958333 http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/12425 thank you for the wonderful birthday card and greetings!
I love you all!!!
the day was a nice one with all my friends, though it was not a big party, but i was astonished that people also care for me as much as i do for them.
i look forward to more prosperous years ahead to serve humanity.
thank you so much, the card also made my day!]]> Fri, 28 Nov 2003 13:59:00 EST http://mayowajoel.tigblog.org/post/12425 6.4530556 3.39583336.45305563.3958333