National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, has honoured a Cross Riverian, Fayman Omini, with her “Outstanding Resource Person” award in recognition of his dedication to strengthening the capacity of NACA’s South South zonal office staff and stakeholders, particularly in the areas of Social and Behaviour Change Communication, SBCC, strategic media engagement and advocacy, within HIV response space in the zone.
At the event chaired by the deputy governor of Rivers state, Ipalibo Gogo Banigo, NACA informed those present that Omini’s core area of expertise, Social and Behaviour Change Communication, SBCC, as well as strategic media engagement and how he had applied it to provide immeasurable support in capacity building to the NACA SS zones earned him this special recognition.
We were informed that apart from this recognition and award, Omini has over a 23-year professionally productive span been providing technical leadership for large SBCC programmes across the fields of HIV&AIDS, Malaria, Nutrition, Reproductive Health, Diabetes and more in Nigeria. He has worked in several reputable international NGOs/projects including FHI/GHAIN, FHI/Alive & Thrive, FHI/SNR, MAPS, JHU/HC3, PATH/AIDSFREE, and was also Head of HIV prevention and SBCC Division in NACA as an Assistant Director.
Omini who is also a consultant on corporate culture management, public health communication campaign development and demand generation when contacted, told www.calitown.com that the award “came to me as a huge surprise. I am quite excited and must thank God for this award, thank Him too for the strength to do my work and then thank all those who deemed it fit to give me this unique award.”
The award event, the concluding phase of a strategic media engagement by NACA which took place in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, was attended by stakeholders and implementing partners including UNICEF, UNAIDS, JHPIEGO, JSI, heads of SACAs, media representatives, all involved in HIV programming in the South-South states. It immediately followed a two-day refresher training in HIV media advocacy for media practitioners within the zone.
Omini currently serves as a Demand Generation and Marketing Consultant to Jhpiego.