Top executives and selected staff of ten Small- and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs) have received HIV and AIDS training as part of a Chevron/NACA/NiBUCAA SME Wellness Program that took place Dec. 2nd – 5th, 2009. At the opening ceremony that launched the program at the Protea Hotel Lekki, Lagos, the Chief Executives of the SMEs were taken through a training course on HIV and AIDS ahead of the peer educator program for selected staff.

The NACA DG, Prof John Idoko while flagging off the training programme noted that the bulk of the workforce are concentrated within SMEs which makes the SME Wellness Program key to the Agency. Represented by the head of Public Private Partnership, Dr Emmanuel Alhassan, he recognized the role that Chevron Nigeria Limited is playing in championing partnership within the private sector.

Represented at the occasion by Engr Femi Odumabo who is the General Manager for Government Affairs, the Chairman/Managing Director, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mr Andrew Fawthrop, said the peer health education programme “is premised on the fact that peers in the working place are central in imparting knowledge to their co-workers and getting them to adopt life-enriching habits that would prevent HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis (HMT) or at least mitigate the effects.”

The NiBUCAA Executive Secretary, Olusina Falana while delivering his goodwill message took the opportunity to reveal that the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has awarded NIBUCAA over N30M grant to work with select SMEs in 15 states of the Federation starting from the month of November till the first quarter of 2010 with a view to building their capacity to address HIV & AIDS in the workplace.

The overall objective of the program is to sensitise business executives and create a platform for the empowerment of the SMEs along the lines of HIV & AIDS Workplace programming and understandably so because of the clarion call for universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support. The peer health educator training included two participants from each of the ten selected SMEs. It held at the Bellisimo Hotel, Lekki between the 3rd and 5th December, 2009.