Josephine Aseme

Josephine’s advocacy for PrEP rollout in key populations is exemplary; her accomplishments speak to her drive, savvy and grit. As an oral PrEP-taking sex worker and founder of Greater Women Initiative for Health and Rights, she has taken the helm, steering Nigeria’s KP community to accelerate access to HIV prevention.

For example, she trained almost 300 KP champions across select districts in peer-to-peer PrEP education and was able to chart an increase of over 23,000 PrEP referrals as a result. She successfully worked with the Ministry of Health and her host Heartland Alliance to secure PrEP inclusion in the National Consolidated Service Delivery Guidelines on HIV and STIs for Key Populations, in Nigeria’s National HIV/AIDS Prevention Plan, and in Heartland Alliance’s Peer Educators’ Manual, a nationally recognized compendium. And, as a KP representative to PEPFAR’s country planning, she convinced her peers as well as implementers to add language on the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring and cabotegravir injectables to Nigeria’s country operating plan in 2021.

End of Project Summary Video

• Watch Josephine’s end of project presentation

Media

• PrEP “Cycling”: The dance of oral PrEP — AVAC’s P-Values blog
• HIV/AIDS Prevention: NGOs urges government to partner media on sensitisation — Dozzier
• Drugs Preventing Infection By HIV Positive Partner Available In A’Ibom, Says NGO — UbongAbasi Ise Blog
• AVAC Sensitize Journalists on HIV — The Reach
• NGO Cries Out Over 100,000 Daily HIV Infection Rate — The Nation
• Experts Task FG, Others On HIV Interventions — New Telegraph

Materials

• Josephine PrEP Poster
• Video: “Sex Workers: Let’s PrEP Together!” (English)
• Video: “Sex Workers: Make We PrEP Together!” (Nigerian Pidgin English)

Advocacy

• HIV Prevention for Key and Vulnerable Populations, Interest 2024