GAIYA
GAIYA (Gift of Labour) is a national volunteering program that arose as a response to the needs of Nigeria’s grass root communities in Kafanchan to fight poverty, overcome disadvantage and enhance sustainable livelihoods for the excluded populace. This dream was to be achieved through traditional local volunteer practices that have existed since time immemorial. Fantsuam Foundation together with other initiators have formalized and institutionalized this age-old community development volunteering system.GAIYA volunteers will be mainstreamed into all of our activities, harnessing their expertise and implementing interventions in Sustainable Livelihoods, Health, HIV/AIDS, and ICT Infrastructure.
Past Activities:
GAIYA’s feasibility study report determined that there an urgent need to recruit health professional volunteers, train and place them in these rural community health facilities where there was gross understaffing of personnel. GAIYA has carried out the following activities to date:- Trained and placed 147 health professionals under the categories of nurses and midwives, midwives/ HIV counselors, and Community Health Assistants.
- Nurse volunteers have been deployed to 14 facilities.
- 60 qualified nurses are now working in those facilities providing general nursing and care to community patients.
- For each facility, 2 general midwifes and 1 HIV/AIDS counsellor midwife have been deployed.
Results:
- Communities seeking services from these health centres are now receiving voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) and PMTC services, while expectant mothers have safe deliveries.
- Since GAIYA volunteer midwives were deployed to work in the facilities, more mothers are now attending antenatal clinics.
- HIV counseling and testing is being conducted under the PMTC program.
- Positive mothers are now under ART hence more babies are born free from HIV virus.
- With the presence of community health assistants, disease outbreaks are detected faster and primary prevention is sought earlier by community health assistants.
