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IHVN Hosts Accountants Conference on Grant Compliance and Financial Excellence

To share knowledge, enhance compliance practices and build strong financial systems, the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) has organized its 3rd Annual Accountants Conference, themed “Advancing Excellent Grant Compliance” in Abuja.

Financial professionals, internal auditors, and grant managers from across the country gathered for the four-day event which explored topics like regulatory changes, managing resources in a hyper-inflation economy, and using risk assessment tools.

IHVN Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Patrick Dakum enjoined participants to uphold excellence in their tasks and gain the skills and knowledge to uphold donor requirements and Nigerian regulations.

“Excellence is the hallmark of IHVN. As an institution, our success depends on our people. When we invest in training them to be excellent, we strengthen our systems, which helps attract and retain key donors,” he said.

Dr. Dakum added that the Institute’s centralized payment system and real-time transaction tracking have been vital in ensuring financial accuracy and timeliness. “Our commitment to transparency is a key reason why we continue to attract substantial support from major donors like the Global Fund,” he explained.

IHVN Director of Finance and Administration, Mr. Olu Alabi said the conference is organized by the Institute with the support of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).

“Our goal is to ensure everyone understands what is allowable and what isn’t. This helps us reduce issues and meet both our mandates and those of our donors. Participants find so much value in these sessions,” he stated.

Mr. Alabi said that participants, including sub-recipients working with, the Institute in 36 states have been updated on current regulations and federal guidelines, to enhance professionalism.

He also acknowledged the crucial support of the IHVN Executive Management, funders like CDC Nigeria, USAID, and Global Fund, and the collaboration with ICAN, which provided Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits to participants.

“This conference wouldn’t have been possible without their dedication to equipping our staff for success,” he said.

Conference Participants said that they gained invaluable insights at the meeting.

IHVN Grants and Contracts Assistant, Mr. Alonge Michael said that he “learned best practices for effective grant lifecycle management and risk mitigation techniques. This has broadened my knowledge on how to maintain grant integrity,” Michael noted.

IHVN Assistant Director Internal Audit and Compliance, Mr. Kayode Olaleye explained that the conference equipped participants with knowledge on how to adapt policies based on real-world challenges. He added that sessions on Artificial Intelligence and tax laws were especially beneficial.

**IHVN Director of Finance and Administration, Mr. Olu Alabi addressing participants at the conference.**

**Conference participants pose for a group picture.**

Support Group Empowers Adolescents to Live Healthy with HIV

More than 9,000 adolescents who receive care in health facilities supported by the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) are committing to healthy choices with help from peer support groups.

The Operation Triple Zero (OTZ) support groups promote zero missed appointments, zero missed drugs, and zero viral loads and were established by IHVN in 2019 with funding support from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC). Currently, OTZ groups are operational in the Federal Capital Territory, Nasarawa, Katsina, and Rivers States.

At the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital Teaching Hospital (UATH), OTZ meetings begin with a pledge,

“I pledge my loyalty to myself by myself, my readiness and duty to defend my health, my devotion to zero missed appointments, zero missed drugs, and zero viral load.”

24-year-old Miriam Onu says that the meetings restored her hope when she discovered that she is HIV positive.

“When I came to the meeting, I saw that I am not the only one living with HIV and that HIV does not define me. It has been very helpful knowing that I am not alone and I am still worth every good thing despite my status. Here at the meetings, I get advice on adhering to my medication so that it can work better.”

During the meeting, Miriam also learned that she could chase her dreams. She has started sewing clothes and is pursuing a sociology degree with hopes of studying for a master’s degree and becoming a professional therapist.

“I want to impact lives like I was impacted. People need people to talk to especially these days that times are hard,” she adds.

To share what he has learned with others, Salvation. O is creating short videos and sharing them through his social media accounts.

”I can remember back then when I was not taking my medications, my viral load was high and I used to receive frequent calls from the hospital about taking medications. Meeting peers at the support group encouraged me to change my attitude towards taking medications. I now counsel people using myself as an example. I even recorded a song about HIV and tuberculosis. I am impacting lives with music. Some people will get the message better when they listen to it.”

Aside from listening to music and health talks, the adolescents play games and interact with each other during meetings as they wait for their doctor’s appointments.

Precious Ehud, a peer mentor, works with the Association of Positive Youths in Nigeria (APYIN), which has been engaged by IHVN to coordinate the provision of care services to adolescents.

She says that the adolescents are grouped into younger (10–14-year-olds) and older adolescents/young persons (15 to 24-year-olds) for age-appropriate counseling on HIV prevention, adherence to medications, and other issues. Precious encourages adolescents “not to lose hope because living with HIV is not a death sentence. You can achieve your goals.”

She adds that being a peer OTZ Champion built her confidence. She speaks to more than 40 adolescents who gather at OTZ meetings monthly and attend clinic weekly. Precious’ dream is to become an accountant, caterer, and make-up artist.

UATH Social Worker and Counsellor, Mrs. Theresa Otu supervises the provision of adolescent services and meetings in the hospital. She says that the adolescents interact freely outside the walls of the hospital and this has helped them adhere to their medications.

“The meetings help them to bond. They care for each other. As they are growing, we have some of them getting married to people outside the support group who are aware of their status. Last month, we went to the wedding of one of them. I was so happy, I was even the Mother of the Day. Some married ones are coming back for counseling on prevention of mother-to-child transmission services,” she adds smiling.

IHVN Adolescent Services Lead, Ms. Franca Akolawole says that Operation Triple Zero (OTZ) is a differentiated model of care targeted at improving treatment outcomes in Adolescents and Young People Living with HIV (AYPLWHIV) aged 10 – 24 years.

“This asset-based intervention enables adolescents, young people, their caregivers, and health workers to aspire to better HIV treatment goals. UNAIDS data reported an estimated 120,000 adolescents aged 10 – 19 years living with HIV in Nigeria in 2019. IHVN currently provides HIV care and treatment to about 9,603 adolescents Living with HIV (ALHIV) across its supported States. Adolescents living with HIV are faced with various challenges related to changes in their bodies and living with HIV. They therefore need services that are tailored to their unique challenges,” she says.

Ms Akolawole explains that, “ IHVN in collaboration with the Association of Positive Youth in Nigeria (APYIN) provides adolescent and youth-friendly health services including the scale-up of Operation Triple Zero Strategy both at the facilities and community level also plans to scale up the community activities in the new fiscal year in collaboration with the orphans and vulnerable team.”

**Adolescents play games with a Volunteer while waiting for a doctor’s appointment.**

LGA Ad-Hoc Staff | Ondo State

The Institute of Human Virology (IHVN) is a leading and reputable non-governmental organization addressing infectious and non-infectious diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, and cancer through prevention, diagnosis, treatment, capacity building, research, care, and support services. IHVN is in partnership with local and international organizations and the different tiers of the government of Nigeria at the national, state, and local levels. The Institute aims to provide quality health services, capacity building, and research in West Africa and beyond.

The Immunization Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming Services (IMPACT) project is a World Bank performance-based financing project in Nigeria that targets children under five and women as primary beneficiaries. The IMPACT project was developed in support of the commitment of the Government of Nigeria to improve its Human Capital to reduce under-five Mortality by half by 2030: from 132 to 79 per 1,000 births in 2030 (World Bank, 2020).

In order to successfully implement this project, IHVN is therefore seeking qualified candidates for the following position:

Position	LGA Ad- Hoc Staff
Department	Prevention Care & Treatment
Reports to	Program Lead, Clinical Services
Location	Across the 18 LGAs in Ondo state

Opening Date: 27^th December, 2024

Closing Date: 3^rd January 2025

Position Overview

Support high-quality data recording and reporting into documentation tools.
Check and maintain the intensified malaria case management process at clustered facilities using the hub-and-spoke model.
Perform malaria diagnosis using Rapid Diagnostic test kits (RDTs) and do necessary referral/network coordination.
Support the Community Mobilization team in coordinating, collecting, and reviewing community intervention data.
Collate and review data from facilities in his/her assigned clustered facilities using data capturing tools and electronic data collection systems (ODK).
Routine visits to assigned facilities and communities within his/her cluster to ensure quality malaria diagnosis, treatment, and prevention services when necessary.
Support referral linkage coordination, ensuring seamless integration between communities and facilities regarding referrals to ensure no patient loss (100% linkage rate to facilities).
Support malaria commodity tracking and reporting at supported health facilities to avoid stock out of drugs and other malaria commodities.
Collate weekly site reports, routinely verify reports generated against source documents, and report challenges to the IHVN supervising officer where necessary.
Regularly support the updating of all NMEP documentation tools in the LGA.
Ensure daily update is made into NMEP recording registers.
Assist LGA M&E and Malaria program officers in monthly data collation and reporting.
Support with data retrieval, collation, and review from different SDPs and interventions in the LGA.

Required Competencies

Knowledge of the State/LGA is highly essential.

Education and Experience:

Minimum HND/ Bachelor’s degree in health informatics, Public Health, Nursing, health Sciences or Community Health, Social Sciences, Biological Sciences or related field.

Safeguarding (PSEAH):/As an organization, IHVN takes the issue of Protection against Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH) seriously, because safeguarding the people we interface with in all our programmatic work is of the utmost importance to us.

IHVN only recruits’ representatives who are suited and abides to the strict responsibility of SEAH.

By applying to this role, you are agreeing to IHVN carrying out a background check on you with respect to SEAH records and you also confirm that not before or after being hired will you breach the IHVN policy on SEAH.

Equal employment opportunity statement

IHVN is an equal employment employer. We do not engage in practices that discriminate against any person employed or seeking employment based on religion, gender, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status, genetic information, or any other status or characteristic protected under applicable laws.

Mode of Application:

Application letter and detailed curriculum vitae in Microsoft Word format should be forwarded to the Assistant Director, Human Resources through this email address: [email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
This advert is open from 27^th December 2024, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Institute Partners Journalists to Improve Health Outcomes

The Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) has partnered with the Association of Nigeria Health Journalists (ANHeJ) to inform health journalists about prevailing health issues for factual reporting and public sensitization.

At the opening ceremony of the 8^th Annual ANHEJ conference in Abuja, IHVN Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Patrick Dakum commended the journalists for their consistency in sustaining a forum for the press and stakeholders in the health sector to gather, deliberate on pertinent issues, and forge a way forward for better health in Nigeria.

Dr. Dakum who was represented by the IHVN FCT Technical Lead, Dr. Charles Imogie, said that the conference theme, “Sector Wide Approach Effectiveness in Addressing Poor Health Outcomes: The Role of the Media” is timely.

“The importance of collaboration to strengthen health systems and leave no one behind cannot be overemphasized. The media plays an invaluable role in informing and educating the public about utilizing available free health services in hospitals and communities. This is just a tip of the iceberg when one considers other roles of the media like holding the government accountable to its people and encouraging better domestic funding for health programs and research,” he said.

ANHeJ President, Mr. Joseph Kadiri said that the conference will examine critical health programs and policies aimed at improving health outcomes for Nigerians.

“The Sector Wide Approach (SWAP) was introduced to address challenges of inadequate funding, inefficient resource allocation, and poor service delivery. However, SWAP’s effectiveness relies heavily on the active engagement of various stakeholders including the media. As journalists, we play a vital role in promoting health awareness, education, and advocacy. Through our reporting, we can hold stakeholders accountable, provide a platform for marginalized voices, and promote evidence-based health information and best practices,” Mr. Kadiri added.

Also at the event, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju Kachollom, reaffirmed its commitment to working with the media to promote health awareness, counter misinformation, and ensure transparency and accountability within the health sector.

About 30 health journalists from various media houses participated in the conference which held in Abuja.

Representative of the IHVN CEO, IHVN FCT Technical Lead. Dr Charles Imogie giving a goodwill message at the 8th Annual Conference for the Association of Nigeria Health Journalists

PEPFAR Global AIDS Coordinator Commends IHVN, MDH

The US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Global AIDS Coordinator, Amb. Dr. John Nkengasong has commended the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) and Maitama District Hospital for providing quality prevention, care and treatment services to about 3,000 people living with HIV in the Federal Capital Territory.

Dr. Nkegasong said this during a supervisory visit of the PEPFAR Office of Global Health Security and Diplomacy to the hospital.

“PEPFAR is proud to stand with those in need. Maitama District Hospital and IHVN is working to prevent HIV infections. The work you are doing is lifesaving. We are happy to see that PEPFAR is making a difference in their lives,” he said.

Dr Nkengasong was represented by the Deputy Coordinator for Program Quality of the Office of Global Health Security and Diplomacy (GHSD), Dr. Kainne Dokubo who toured the HIV service delivery points at the hospital and interacted with women living with HIV who have benefited from prevention of mother-to-child transmission services.

Earlier, IHVN Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Patrick Dakum said that PEPFAR support through the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has ensured that 72 HIV-exposed babies whose mothers accessed HIV services in the facility in the past year are HIV-free.

“It is a privilege to have you with us. We thank you for funding the HIV program through taxpayers money to provide lifesaving treatment for many. We are also grateful to CDC for the profound technical support and guidelines.”

The Chief Medical Director of Maitama District Hospital, Dr. Rita Idemudia also thanked the visitors for supporting HIV services in the facility and expressed her desire for more collaboration to improve health delivery to clients. She said IHVN has collaborated with the hospital for 17 years.

The visiting team included the CDC Global Division Director HIV and TB, Dr. Hank Tomlinson, PEPFAR Acting Deputy Coordinator, Ms Jasmine Buttolph and PEPFAR Country Coordinator, Funmi Adesanya. The USCDC Nigeria team led by the Acting Country Director Dr Susanne Theroux

Deputy Coordinator for Program Quality of the Office of Global Health Security and Diplomacy (GHSD), Dr. Kainne Dokubo interacting with Maitama District Hospital Clinic Manager, Gloria Eteng during a tour of some HIV service delivery points at the hospital.

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Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria - IHV NIGERIA

Author Archives: admin

IHVN Hosts Accountants Conference on Grant Compliance and Financial Excellence

Support Group Empowers Adolescents to Live Healthy with HIV

LGA Ad-Hoc Staff | Ondo State

Institute Partners Journalists to Improve Health Outcomes

PEPFAR Global AIDS Coordinator Commends IHVN, MDH

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