US embassy cable - 03ABUJA2208

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 002208 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/PD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AMGT, KPAO, OIIP, NI 
SUBJECT:  World AIDS Day Activities in Nigeria 
 
 
1.  Summary.  The U.S. mission held events in Lagos and 
Abuja in commemoration of World AIDS Day on December 1, 
as well as throughout the month.  PAS Abuja on December 
1 screened the AIDS film documentary, "A Closer Walk," 
to a variety of government officials, NGO activists, 
and journalists, and later showed the film to invited 
guests of the Vice President's wife, Titi Abubakar, on 
Friday, December 5 at the Presidential Villa.  Post is 
also in contact with the film's director, Robert 
Bilheimer, regarding licensing for national television 
broadcasting, based on a request from the Nigerian 
Television Authority.  Post released the Washington- 
produced op-ed under Ambassador Meece's signature; it 
appeared on the December 5 editorial page of "The 
Guardian," one of Nigeria's most popular and 
professionally managed dailies.  For its World AIDS Day 
event, PAS Lagos collaborated with local actors and 
USAID-funded Population Services Survival International 
to produce a play on December 6 at the shrine of former 
Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, who died of AIDS.  End 
Summary. 
 
World AIDS Day 
-------------- 
 
2.  On December 1, the U.S. mission in Nigeria 
commemorated World AIDS Day in both Abuja and Lagos. 
In Abuja, the Public Affairs Section showed the AIDS 
documentary film, "A Closer Walk," to an audience of 
approximately 60 people, comprising government 
officials, NGO workers, people living with HIV/AIDS, 
and the media.  U.S. Charg d'Affaires Roger Meece gave 
remarks, USAID mission director Dawn Liberi (who was 
included in two film clips of the documentary when she 
was USAID mission director in Kampala, Uganda) updated 
the audience on recent discussions in Washington 
regarding the USG's USD 2.4 billion contribution to the 
Global Fund, and John Ibekwe, the deputy coordinator of 
the National Network of People living with HIV/AIDS 
also spoke to those assembled.  As host, the CPAO acted 
as moderator for the program. 
 
3.  The film, which is a very moving documentary 
detailing the scale of human suffering created by the 
HIV/AIDS virus, is also a testimony to the 
possibilities of coping with the disease and hope for 
the future.  Most members of the audience were affected 
by the film's powerful message and the stories of those 
interviewed.  Nigerian broadcast stations, including 
the Nigerian Television Authority's (NTA) Network News 
reported the Embassy's World AIDS Day program and the 
screening of the video, "A Closer Walk."  NTA used 
Ambassador Meece's remarks on the U.S. Congress 
authorization of USD 2.4 billion to AIDS-affected 
nations as both a lead story with an accompanying sound 
bite.  The Vice President's wife invited the Embassy to 
show the film at the Presidential Villa on December 5 
at a dinner in honor of Jermain Jackson formerly of the 
U.S. musical group, the Jackson Five.  Jackson was in 
Abuja to help prepare for Laila Ali's January 10 boxing 
match and a benefit concert for HIV/AIDS featuring 
American artists Ashante and DMX, among others. 
 
4.  Embassy Abuja is in touch with the film director, 
Robert Bilheimer, regarding licensing possibilities in 
Nigeria.  Bilheimer has told us that he was aware that 
other U.S. missions both in Africa and elsewhere in the 
world showed the film on December 1, and has been 
pleased with U.S. government support.  He is working 
with a South African film distribution company on 
developing an approach to licensing rights in Africa. 
 
5.  Also on World AIDS Day, PAS staff announced an 
awards competition on HIV/AIDS at the Fulbright Alumni 
Association Annual Conference at the National Institute 
for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Plateau State. 
A film viewing, "Scenarios From the Sahel," a 
collection of short films about HIV/AIDS, preceded the 
awards competition announcement.  The awards 
competition invites university faculty and students to 
form committees to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS on 
campus and in the immediate community.  The competition 
was kicked off on December 1, 2003 and the deadline for 
the submission of reports is September 15, 2004.  Three 
awards will be made ranging from $3,000 to $1,000. 
 
6. On Saturday, December 6, the Lagos Public Affairs 
Section, in coordination with well-known Nigerian actor 
Bassey Okon and Population Services International, 
hosted the matinee and evening production of a play at 
the New Africa Shrine in Ikeja, Lagos.  The play "A 
Word Is Enough," was written and directed by Okon and 
his cast, and was performed to over 400 secondary 
students and faculty at noon, with a repeat performance 
in the evening for an adult audience of roughly 500. 
 
7. The production, which consisted of three separate 
short drama sketches, dealt with themes of HIV/AIDS 
education and also touched upon some of the many social 
questions inherent in the AIDS fight in Africa.  As 
part of both programs, snacks, t-shirts, caps and 
condoms were distributed to attendees, the cost of 
which was underwritten by a grant from Population 
Services International. 
 
8. The location, The New Africa Shrine, was chosen due 
to its significance as the performance center and 
spiritual home of legendary Nigerian musician Fela 
Kuti, who died of complications related to AIDS in 
1997.  In a tribute to their father, and in an effort 
to show support for the program, Fela's two children, 
Femi and Yeni Kuti attended the evening program.  Media 
coverage included a same-day article that appeared in 
the This Day newspaper, a leading daily. 
Other HIV/AIDS-Related Events in December 
----------------------------------------- 
 
--  As a lead-in to World AIDS Day, the Lagos 
Information Section conducted a targeted briefing prior 
to the observance.  The session, in collaboration with 
a Nigerian NGO dedicated to educating journalists on 
HIV/AIDS, addressed the theme of stigmatization that 
has run through all of the Lagos PAS events in 
December.  Abuja's Information Resource Center hosted a 
roundtable and workshop on HIV/AIDS for information 
specialists. 
 
--  The Mission began December with the release of a 
special HIV/AIDS issue of the post's monthly magazine. 
The edition carried stories on stigmatization, USG 
programs to improve HIV education and media strategies 
for reducing HIV stigma. 
 
--  On December 4, the Lagos Information Resource 
Center held a successful roundtable on the topic of "De- 
stigmatization of AIDS/HIV in Nigeria."  Almost 50 
people attended, representing various aspects of the 
interested community around AIDS in Lagos, including 
NGOs, journalists, health care workers, and 
researchers.   Panelists in the roundtable included 
representatives from an NGO working with young people, 
a journalists' group focused on AIDS issues, Christian 
and Muslim groups working on AIDS in their communities 
and an organization for people living with HIV/AIDS. 
The last speaker was especially powerful and effective, 
tying together the themes of HIV prevention among youth 
with a frank and open discussion of sex and sexuality. 
 
--  Post released the Washington-produced op-ed under 
Ambassador Meece's signature; it appeared on the 
December 5 editorial page of "The Guardian," one of 
Nigeria's most popular and professionally managed 
dailies.  Ambassador Meece slightly modified the 
Washington boilierplate text to include Nigeria- 
specific information. 
 
--  The Lagos Information Section participated in a 
December 5 AFNET dialogue that provided specific de- 
stigmatization suggestions from a U.S. doctor and the 
head of a Washington D.C. HIV/AIDS outreach 
organization. Specifically, Nigerian participants 
learned about successful Washington-area community 
strategies for branching out to low-income families 
through apartment block representatives.  Additionally, 
the doctor addressed Nigerians' concerns about 
identifying HIV infection in poor environments and the 
risks of announcing one's status.  Most significantly, 
several community and religious leaders left the 
dialogue with clear ideas about how they could reach 
out to their constituents. 
 
--  Embassy Abuja participated in a December 16 AFNET 
on People Living With HIV/AIDS, with an audience 
comprised of healthcare professionals, government 
officials from the Executive and Legislative branches, 
NGO workers and the media.  Participation and audience 
receptivity was very strong; many questions were 
referred to the Mission's Center for Disease Control 
(CDC) for answers after the program due to the 
technical nature of the subject. 
 
 
ROBERTS