NIGERIA

	FY 1998 Actual	FY 1999 Estimate	FY 2000 Request
Development Assistance	$3,500,000	$6,500,000	---
Development Fund for Africa	---	---	$11,000,000
Child Survival and Disease	$3,500,000	$6,000,000	$9,000,000

Introduction.

A politically stable and economically strong Nigeria is in the vital interest of the United States due to its oil resources, huge potential market for American products, its role as a peacekeeper in the region, and its major political and economic influence throughout Africa. Current U. S. investments in Nigeria are estimated at $8-10 billion. The death of military dictator Sani Abacha in June 1998 led to the opening up of the repressive political environment in Nigeria by his successor, General Abubakar. Within months of taking office, General Abubakar has moved swiftly to implement a series of political, economic and military reforms designed to restore national unity and a democratic government in Nigeria. The current military regime has earned praise in its efforts and sincerity to resolve the bitter issue of protracted military rule in Nigeria. It is in the interest of the United States to assist the Government and people of Nigeria to successfully implement and sustain the current political transition aimed at national reconciliation and the installation of a democratically-elected government. Targeted U.S. assistance during this transition will support the objectives of a positive and broad-based foreign policy towards Nigeria.

The Development Challenge.

A stable and democratic political environment is essential in developing Nigeria's recognized economic potential which has eluded Nigerian authorities for over three decades. Political instability has prevented socio-economic development. Indeed, political instability and mismanagement have aggravated Nigeria's economic woes. Unfortunately, many years of neglect and mismanagement of the economy means that the civilian government taking office in May 1999 will face difficult economic and social problems with significant implications. The restoration of social services to most Nigerians and the revitalization of Nigeria's public institutions are but a few of the immediate challenges that will face the new government. Added to this will be the challenge of national reconciliation following a long and sometimes brutal history of human rights violations and abuses. Nigeria's economy has been in a downward spiral for two decades, although a slight upturn in economic growth and stability of the national currency was recorded from 1995 and 1997. The gross domestic product (GDP) declined from a high of $1,000 per capita income in the mid-1980's to an estimated $250 for 1996. In 1995 the inflation rate spiraled upward from a baseline of 22%, to a peak of 73%, however initial economic reforms and a tight monetary policy resulted in a drop in inflation to 12% for the twelve months period ending in 1997. During 1998, Nigeria's economic performance changed little. The current regime appears determined to resolve key fundamental problems with the Nigerian economy. For example, dual exchange rates in effect for the Naira have been consolidated, fuel prices increased, albeit minimally, and the autonomy of the Nigerian Central Bank has been restored. Hard economic times for the average Nigerian are likely to continue until the results of good economic management in a stabilized political environment begin to flow. Approximately 49% of Nigerians are below the poverty line of eight dollars or less of monthly household income. Past gains in life expectancy, literacy, education, reduced child mortality, human rights, communications, and health care are being reversed.

Nigeria's population of approximately 106 million continues to grow at 3.1%, well above the regional average of 2.8% and out pacing the Government of Nigeria's (GON) ability to provide social services. Contraceptive prevalence, which reached approximately 12% among women in 1995 at the peak of USAID's family planning assistance, is now reported at 7%. As the HIV/AIDS epidemic matures in Nigeria, its devastating social and economic consequences are becoming evident in villages and communities where the numbers of orphans, widows and widowers with high economic dependency are on the increase. With a national prevalence of 6.7% and approximately 3.5 million Nigerians infected, the crippling effects of the disease have yet to be fully appreciated by the government and most Nigerians. Nigeria's health and social services collapsed in the midst of the political crisis following the 1993 election annulment. Chronic and acute malnutrition are commonplace. With donor support, the GON has recently embarked on immunization campaigns which have increased the immunization coverage for polio in 1998 to 100% for the vulnerable group under age five. However, infant and maternal mortality rates remain high at 84 per 1000 and 1000 per 100,000 respectively.

Proposed assistance to Nigeria at a significantly increased level over the FY 1999 budget reflects the current policy of cautious optimism in support of the GON's transition efforts. In response to the development constraints identified above, USAID resources are channelled through NGOs and focused on good governance, democratic transition, health and population activities. In FY 1999, USAID provided approximately $100,000 in humanitarian and relief assistance to victims of the pipeline explosion in the Delta region of Nigeria. The fledgling civilian government assuming power on May 29, 1999, will be beset by a host of governance, economic and social problems. The focus of USAID assistance will be in all three areas, but especially in the governance and social services areas. USAID assistance will be focused on catalyzing the growth and leverage of NGOs working at the community and national levels in health care support and democratization. The health portion of the program is contributing to basic needs at a time when public sector services are largely ineffective, and also confronts regional disease outbreaks such as polio and HIV/AIDS which know no borders. The short-term benefits of strengthening NGOs and civil society sector in democracy and governance are already apparent from the growing community power and leverage of NGOs in community affairs and the political transition. The long term benefits will be an educated and strengthened civil society in Nigeria with the capability of sustaining democratic values in a stable political environment. Given Nigeria's enormous size, its large population and the severity of its systemic problems, The USAID program at the increased funding level is still relatively modest. U.S. staffing will be increased from one to four direct hires in support of the increased U.S. engagement in Nigeria.

Other Donors.

In response to the current transition, donors are revisiting and discussing assistance to the GON. Multilateral donors including the African Development Bank and United Nations agencies (UNICEF, UNFPA and UNDP) continue to work with the GON and provide the largest share of development assistance to the GON. The United States remains the largest bilateral donor in health and democracy/governance, followed by the United Kingdom. Germany, Norway, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and other countries of the European Union (EU) have small assistance programs. U.S. is funding the largest contingent of election monitors for the current elections followed by other EU and Commonwealth efforts. Other American NGOs active in Nigeria include the Ford and McArthur Foundations.

FY 2000 program

Increased assistance for Nigeria is focussed on assisting the country's transition to a democratically elected government. Nascent government institutions at the local, state and federal levels will be assisted to meet the high expectations of the civilian population. USAID also will continue to strengthen civil society organizations to participate in the democratic process. Some assistance will be used to support the provision of health services to the Nigerian people.

NIGERIA

FY 2000 PROGRAM SUMMARY
(in thousands of dollars)

USAID Mission Director, Felix Awantang

USAID Strategic and Special Objectives	Economic Growth & Agriculture	Population & Health	Environment	Democracy	Human Capacity Development	Humanitarian Assistance	TOTALS
S.O.1. Increased Voluntary Use of Family Planning --DFA	---	4,000	---	---	3,000	---	7,000
S.O.2. Improved Maternal/Child Health Practices --CSD	---	3,600	---	---	2,000	---	5,600
Sp.0.1. Improved HIV/AIDS, Prevention, Control & Mitigation --CSD	---	3,400	---	---	---	---	3,400
Sp.0.2. Strengthened Civil Society Contribution to Democratic Participation and Civil Rights --DFA	---	---	---	4,000	---	---	4,000
Totals: - DFA - CSD	--- ---	4,000 7,000	--- ---	4,000 ---	3,000 2,000	--- ---	11,000 9,000

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: NIGERIA
TITLE AND NUMBER: Increased Voluntary Use of Family Planning, 620-S001
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCES: FY 2000: $7,000,000 DFA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1994 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 2001

Summary: The purpose of this objective is to promote a healthier and more productive Nigerian society through the provision of safe and affordable voluntary family planning services in collaboration with community level non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In 1988, USAID began work on this objective, which was to increase contraceptive usage (contraceptive prevalence rate - CPR) among adults of reproductive age from a low of about 3% to about 12% in 1995. With the substantial reduction in funding for population activities in Nigeria, the gains made in CPR have been eroded to a level of about 7%. Nigeria's population, estimated to be 106 million, remains the highest in sub-Saharan Africa with an annual increase of 3.1%. Many Nigerian women marry early and have the first pregnancy early with an overall fertility rate of 6.5 births per woman. A high incidence of unwanted pregnancies and abortion among sexually active Nigerian adolescents are some of the problems arising from limited access to family planning services. The direct beneficiaries of family planning services are the approximately 30 million reproductive age Nigerians who will be first time users and/or continuing users of contraceptives.

Key Results: Three key intermediate results were identified for this objective: (1) demand for modern contraception measured by the proportion of married women wishing to space or limit their number of children, and proportion of women knowledgeable of at least one modern method of family planning; (2) availability of modern contraceptive services measured by the quantity of contraceptives provided, number of private sector service sites providing a full range of long-acting and clinical methods and number of community-based distributors (CBDs) providing a full range of CBD services; and (3) enhanced quality of family planning services measured by the level of quality of services at clinical service sites. The family planning program provides information on contraceptive options, promotes knowledge of availability of services thereby increasing demand for, and utilization of, modern family planning methods.

USAID provides family planning services within the context of an integrated health care package through NGOs in 14 of 36 states. The USAID-funded NGOs provide training for service providers, deliver quality clinical and non-clinical services, utilize a social marketing strategy to distribute contraceptive commodities, and provide information, education and communication services. The number of NGO sites providing clinical family planning services increased from 15 in 1996, to 25 in 1997. In addition, the number of CBD agents increased by 39% in 1997, that is from 1,300 in 1996, to 1,809 in 1997. Between 1993 and 1997, USAID generated 3.66 million couple-years of protection (CYP).

Performance and Prospects: USAID remains a major donor in the provision of family planning services in Nigeria in spite of its inability to work with the public sector. USAID will continue to support the delivery of family planning services as a component of an integrated health care delivery package through 70 Nigerian NGO partners. With technical support from U.S. Cooperating Agencies (CA's), the NGO partners work in the 14 focus states in the northern, southwestern and southeastern states serving an estimated population of 50 million people. USAID plans to focus on increasing demand for family planning services through improved information, education and communication, increasing service accessibility and availability to clients through additional NGO sites, improving services through staff training, ensuring quality of care, and monitoring and evaluation. It is expected that contraceptive usage in the USAID-focused states will increase to about 10% through the efforts of local NGOs.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: In the event that contraceptive supply to the NGO sector becomes insufficient, USAID will seek support from the United Nations Population Funds (UNFPA) and the Department For International Development (DID) of the United Kingdom for increased social marketing of contraceptive commodities to the NGO. Funding permitting, USAID will co-fund a Demographic Health Survey (DHS) during 1999.

Other Donor Programs: UNFPA continues to provide support in the public sector and plans to extend its support to the NGO sector. UNFPA, and other donors hope to collaborate to support a DHS in the first quarter of 1999, which will provide information on current level of knowledge and practice of family planning. The DID and the Ford Foundation (FF) are the other donors active in the funding of family planning services and contraceptive commodities. The DID has continued to support Population Services International and the Society for Family Health for social marketing of contraceptives. The FF has focused its activities mostly in support of adolescent reproductive health.

Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: USAID currently implements activities through U.S. CAs who work in turn with Nigerian NGOs. Major grantees who are primarily responsible for family planning information and services include Center for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA), the Johns Hopkins University/Population Communication Services (JHU/PCS), Access to Voluntary and Safe Contraception (AVSC) and Pathfinder International. U.S. grantees who are secondarily involved in the provision of family planning information and services in their projects include the John Snow Inc./BASICS Project and Family Health International.

Selected Performance Measures:

	Baseline (1995)	FY 2000	Target (FY2001)
Increased Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR)	7%	9%	10%
Increased proportion of women knowledgeable about family planning	67%	80%	85%
Increased number of private sector service sites providing a full range of methods	40%	55%	60%

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: NIGERIA
TITLE AND NUMBER: Improved Maternal and Child Health Practices, 620-SO02
STATUS: Continuing.
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCES: FY 2000 $5,600,000 CSD
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1993 ESTIMATED COMPLETED DATE: 2000

Summary: Child survival activities promote a healthier and more productive Nigerian society through the provision of maternal and child health services in collaboration with private sector health facilities and community-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Nigeria’s immunization status reached a peak of 80% in 1989 and started dropping due to poor funding of recurrent costs and an unstable political environment. In 1990 USAID designed a $50 million child survival intervention in collaboration with the Government of Nigeria (GON) but this activity was pre-empted by political problems. The political crisis of 1993 initiated a downward spiral in public health services. As a result of strained US-Nigeria relations, USAID/Nigeria was downsized and the child survival budget reduced to $1.5 million annually. Assistance to the public sector was withdrawn and the remaining funds redeployed to NGOs. The breakdown in public services bottomed out in 1995 when immunization coverage fell to an estimated 20%.

In 1996, an Inter-Agency Collaborating Committee (ICC) was formed with donor partners (World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Department of Foreign International Development (DFID), USAID, and Rotary International) and the Federal Ministry of Health (MOH) to address the immunization crisis. A decision was made to institute National Immunization Day (NIDs) to reverse the decline and the first one with USAID support was conducted in 1998. The 1999 NIDs achieved over 100% coverage. Beneficiaries are Infants, children under five and mothers.

Key Results: The child survival intervention has identified the following intermediate results: (1) Improved immunization coverage for diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (DPT3) and measles to 80% from 20% in 1995 and eradication of polio by the year 2000; (2) Improved appropriate home management of the sick child, use of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) from 42% in 1995 to 80% by the year 2000, and increased access to anti-malarial drugs; and, (3) Improved childhood nutrition, proportion of children exclusively breast fed for the first six months to be improved from the present very low level to 15% by the year 2000.

The Basic Support for Institutionalizing Child Survival (BASICS) project is providing assistance to 11 Community Partners for Health (CPHs) in Lagos and Kano. Plans are in progress to replicate these interventions in the Southeastern states. BASICS/CPHs consist of 26 health facilities, 290 community-based organizations, 47 patent medicine vendors and 27 traditional healers including other members of the community. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has engaged nine NGOs with a total of 84 health facilities and 21 community outreach services, and has trained a total of 397 village health workers to form the nucleus of community outreach health services. Weekly community immunization days have been instituted at these facilities, thereby strengthening routine immunization and improving the capacity to immunize children against polio, DPT3, measles and tuberculosis. Activities in the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) program have also commenced. USAID also contributed substantially to the overall immunization effort with a $4.3 million grant from CDC to UNICEF and WHO Nigeria. This grant was used to purchase vaccines and other supplies for the NIDs campaign.

USAID provided $600,000 to Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and BASICS for support to the 1998 NIDs, which focused on polio eradication. The combined efforts of all USAID partners during the NIDs campaign contributed significantly towards the overall successes recorded during the campaign. Assistance was provided in the areas of micro-planning, training, social mobilization, cold chain storage equipment, logistics support, syringes and needles, service delivery and overall national coordination.

Approximately 22 million infants were immunized nationwide leading to a 100% coverage for the target age group during the first round of the 1998 NIDs, and 109% during the second round. USAID supported NGOs were directly responsible for immunizing approximately 1,000,000 children. USAID also financed the aggressive social mobilization campaign for the entire operation consisting of the following elements: the production of 9,520 jingles used by 34 radio stations, the printing of 150,000 posters in five major local languages, the use of traditional town criers and house-to-house mobilization. More than 750 service providers were trained to provide immunization services in 1,269 sites across the three clusters.

Performance and Prospects: Most donors and the MOH agree that priority should be given to the immunization program in efforts to resuscitate child survival and primary health care services to the nation. An erstwhile NGO-hostile MOH is now more appreciative of NGO contributions in support of health services.

The polio eradication initiative will continue to be an essential element in the USAID program. Surveillance is still in a slow phase and needs to be enhanced as the target date approaches. Immunization in hard-to-reach areas is going to be intensified this year. A myriad of other Child Survival (CS) problems warrant serious attention and funding. These include epidemic preparedness and response and childhood nutrition activities. Subject to increased availability of funding, USAID will initiate interventions in some of these areas. Reduced funding has diminished USAID's capacity to support activities related to CS and Maternal and Child Health (MCH).

Possible Adjustments to Plans: A high level of commendable collaboration was achieved for the first time in a long time between donors and the Government of Nigeria in the current encouraging political environment.

Other Donor Programs: The ICC coordinates public sector and donor agency efforts in support of National Immunizations, including policy formulation and implementation strategies. CDC provided the sum of $4,3 million to UNICEF for the purchase of vaccines, while additional vaccines together with small quantities of cold chain storage equipment were procured by the Gongs Petroleum Trust Fund and Family Support Program, WHO sponsored all NIDs training and DID renovated some cold stores.

Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: USAID implements child survival activities through Nigerian NGOs, Centers for Disease Control, John Hopkins University and the Center for Development and Population Activities.

Selected Performance Measures:

	Baseline (1995)	FY 2000 Target
Improved immunization coverage	20%	80%
Improved use of home management of diarrhea	30%	50%
Improved childhood nutrition (exclusive of breast feeding)	3%	50%

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: NIGERIA
TITLE AND NUMBER: HIV/AIDS Prevention and Impact Mitigation, 620-SPO01
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCES: FY 2000: $3,400,000 CS
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 2005

Summary: The first case of AIDS was reported in Nigeria in 1986 at which time there was an overall lack of information and some denial. It took the Government of Nigeria (GON) six years before it undertook to carry out its first HIV sentinel survey with assistance from the World Health Organization (WHO). The national prevalence rate was then (1992) estimated to be 1.2%. Since then, the number of HIV infected individuals in Nigeria has increased rapidly from about 600,000 in 1992, to upwards of 1.9 million in 1994, and 2.2 million in 1996, to 3-4 million in 1998. Therefore, over 10% of the global burden of HIV has consistently been attributable to Nigeria alone. Similarly, the number of cases of full blown AIDS reported by the GON to WHO increased rapidly from 1,148 in April 1994, to 10,803 in November 1997, representing more than an 840% increase. Although these figures constitute the tip of an ice-berg, they reflect an exponential growth in the magnitude of the AIDS epidemic in Nigeria. The purpose of this objective is therefore to promote a healthier and more productive society through the prevention of HIV/AIDS and Sexually-Transmitted Diseases (STDs) in collaboration with non-governmental organizations (NGOs). As a result, USAID's objective which was initially limited to reduction in the transmission of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), has been expanded to include mitigation of the impact of the epidemic direct beneficiaries are People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), People Affected By AIDS (PABA), sexually active adults and adolescents and the entire Nigerian population.

Key Results: To achieve this objective, three key intermediate results were identified: (1) Increased HIV/AIDS awareness: The proportion of men and women knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS to be increased from the 1993 baseline figure of 47% to at least 70% in 1999; (2)Availability of condoms: social marketing of condoms to increase annual sales from 17,000,000 in 1990, to 60,000,000/annum by 1999; and, (3) Care and support for PLWHA and PABA.

Information, Education and Communication (IEC) services have been provided to over 931,458 people in identified high risk groups (PLWHA, PABA). This educational effort has been supported by 172 media spots and 462,772 IEC materials which are reaching the broader audience. USAID supported the establishment of three community based projects for care and support (mainly psychosocial) for PLWHA and PABA. Thirty PLWHA have been trained in peer counselling and education.

HIV/AIDS awareness rose from 47% in 1993, to over 70% in 1997, while consistent use of condoms among some targeted high risk groups increased by 26% to 62%. One million condoms have been distributed to high risk populations through these projects. These are stimulating the demand for condoms from other sources, e.g. contraceptive social marketing sold 55 million condoms in 1995, 34 million in 1996, 37 million in 1997 and 50 million in 1998. As a result of USAID's achievement in the empowerment of NGOs for community program implementation, the GON now recognizes these donor- funded NGOs as the most active in service delivery.

Performance and Prospects: Past downsizing of the USAID Mission in Nigeria has hampered results. The USAID-funded HIV/AIDS program is targeted at 14 states (out of 36 states in Nigeria) with an estimated population of 50 million. The program supports NGO efforts at the community level.

Possible Adjustments To Plans: In the event that USAID/Nigeria's budget is substantially increased, USAID in collaboration with the GON and other key players will reappraise the HIV/AIDS situation in Nigeria, through a sector study, in order to establish the magnitude and distribution of the HIV/AIDS problem. Based on the results of this appraisal, USAID will expand its current program to include more states. More communities and target populations will be identified for preventive as well as care and support (for PLWHA) interventions. More attention will be given to youth, both in- and out-of-school who constitute over half of Nigeria's estimated population of 106 million. Care and support projects for AIDS orphans will be established as well. The Orphan Care project will comprise education and school meal programs. The proportion of PLWHA managed in the community by community based organizations to increase to 50% of all PLWHA discharged from collaborating health facilities by 1999. The current budget for condom social marketing will be reviewed such that condom supply can satisfy condom demand, estimated at 80 million pieces per annum. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment of STD through the syndromic approach will be strengthened through training of appropriate health care providers. USAID will support operations and biomedical research initiatives that complement HIV/AIDS field interventions. Finally, USAID in collaboration with GON and other key players will strengthen the HIV/AIDS/STD surveillance system and conduct regular DHS surveys.

Other Donor Programs: The GON established the National AIDS/STD Control Program to implement and coordinate GON's anti-AIDS efforts at the federal level. Similar program units have been established at state and local government levels. The total annual commitment from these three tiers of government, federal, state and local government, to HIV/AIDS prevention and control efforts is $5.7 million, but disbursement has fallen far short of this amount. However, there is some evidence that the GON has renewed its interest in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The GON has organized sensitization seminars on HIV/AIDS for top government officials and a stakeholder's conference on AIDS to develop an action plan for government and other key players.The Department For International Development (DFID), formerly British Overseas Development Administration, provides screening equipment and reagents to GON. DFID currently supports commodity (inclusive of condoms for disease prevention) social marketing through a three year $5.9 million contract with Population Services International. The United Nations Joint Program on AIDS has supported GON's anti-HIV/AIDS efforts with a $200,000 grant to the National AIDS/STD Control Program and plans further inputs.

Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: USAID implements activities initially through a contract Family Health International (FHI) through a "bridging" grant and currently through the IMPACT project. FHI delivers integrated services that include child survival, family planning and HIV/AIDS interventions.

Selected Performance Measures:

	Baseline	FY 2000	Target (FY 2005)
Improved access to condoms	17 million (1990)	60 million	80 million
Increased proportion of men and women knowledgeable about AIDS	47% (1993)	70%	80%
Increased proportion of AIDS patients managed by community-based organizations	NA (1997)	50%	70%

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: NIGERIA
TITLE AND NUMBER: Strengthened Civil Society Contribution to Democratic Participation and Respect for Human Rights, 620-SP02
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCES: FY 2000 $4,000,000 DFA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1996 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 2002

Summary: USAID/Nigeria's Democracy and Governance (DG) Program was initiated in FY1996 to strengthen civil society's capacity to effect democratic change under a repressive military regime. A vast country with almost a quarter of Africa's population (106 million), Nigeria has been trapped in political instability and military rule for three decades. One major consequence of military rule is a weakened and divided civil society. Other consequences of military rule include the centralization of power and resources, erosion of Nigeria's federal structure, heightening of regional and ethnic divisions, a politicized military, and a weakened political class which has lost its capacity to organize vibrant political parties, or espouse and practice democratic values and principles. There is low confidence in the electoral system due to malpractice by politicians and officials which marred elections during the last decade and facilitated failed military transitions to democratic governance. Even if ongoing transition elections lead to the exit of the military in May 1999, Nigeria will likely witness civil rule with the following attributes: weak democratic structures and institutions staffed by inexperienced officials; a weak democratic culture and civil society uncertain about its role in a democratic setting; a judicial system dependent on the executive branch; a centralized government with the federal government exercising disproportionate powers and controlling the lion's share of national resources; an immature government buffeted by ethnic and regional disaffections over power sharing and the distribution of national wealth; a weak and bellicose media; wild public expectations amidst diminishing resources; and a politicized military waiting in the wings ready to replace the new civilian government at the slightest opportunity. The direct and indirect beneficiaries are the people of Nigeria.

Key Results: Identified Intermediate Results include: Strengthened civil society's contribution to sustainable democracy and good governance; increased number of women with decision/policy making skills; increased level of knowledgeable participation by civil society in democratic precesses and governance; more civil society organizations with greater capacity for democratic self-governance and protection of human rights, and strengthened democratic institutions.

USAID, through the Global Democracy Center, engaged three American NGOs: the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the International Republican Institute (IRI), and International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), along with a South African NGO, African Center for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) to train local poll watchers to monitor the elections. Training and monitoring guides have been developed, produced and distributed. Over 1,000 monitors have been trained and deployed, making it possible for the first two elections held so far, (the local council and state legislative, and governorship polls) to be monitored by trained domestic and international monitors. A total of 42 voter education/mobilization workshops were held throughout the country in November 1998 by a coalition of women organizations led by Nigeria's largest women umbrella group, the National Council of Women Societies, to mobilize women voters. This was accompanied by a media campaign on 37 radio and television stations to mobilize and educate prospective voters to register and vote. A national summit of women involving over 2000 delegates from all parts of Nigeria was convened in December 1998 to canvass for changes in the draft constitution in favor of affirmative action, to integrate women into politics, and address gender inequity in the sharing and exercise of political power. The demands made by the women for changes in the constitution in favor of gender equity was accepted by a government panel and seems likely to be included in the constitution.

A small grants program supports women and youth organizations to implement projects in the area of women empowerment, fundamental human rights and civic education, have so far witnessed impressive success. In the first year of the program, 1996, 31 small grants were given to partner NGOs and community based organizations (CBOs) in 14 States in the north-western, south-western and south-eastern regions of Nigeria. In the second year, 34 small grants were given out. Women and youths have been mobilized and sensitized for increased participation in politics and decision making. Legal centers for women have been established and para-legal assistants trained to run these centers. Media campaigns on DG issues are promoted through the print media, radio and television. This has increased public awareness in democracy, human rights and civic responsibilities. This increased awareness contributed in no small measure to the proactive role played by pro-democracy groups and DG NGO partners in the last days of the Abacha regime. The program is estimated to have reached over 30 million.

Performance and Prospects: USAID/Nigeria's most recent effort has been in the area of transition assistance to strengthen the ongoing democratization program to return the country to civil rule on May 29, 1999. This involves voter mobilization, improvement of women's political participation, and support for domestic and international monitoring of the elections. USAID Nigeria will be developing a transition strategy for the period immediately following the February 1999 elections. Activities will look at ways to support the smooth transition to civilian rule through a variety of activities which will complement the ongoing activities. USAID also has approval to increase its present in-country U.S. staff to accomplish an expanded program in this sector.

Possible Adjustment to Plans: Subject to a successful transition to democratic rule and improved US-Nigeria relations allowing for an increase in USAID/Nigeria's current budget, the DG Program will inevitably need to be broadened to respond to the needs of the new democratic environment. The expanded DG Program will focus on three major areas: women empowerment and rights; civil society; and the strengthening of the new democratic institutions.

Other Donor Programs: Western democracies of the European Union (EU) have been active in supporting pro-democracy groups to restore civilian rule in Nigeria. These countries include Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, and Ireland. The EU as a bloc and the Commonwealth have also extended support to groups working for democratization in Nigeria.

Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: Center for Development and Population Activities, The Johns Hopkins University, United States Information Agency, NDI, IRI, IFES and ACCORD.

Selected Performance Measures:

	Baseline (1998)	FY 2000	Target (FY 2002)
Increased # of NGOs involved in DG activities:	1,850	3,100	3,300
Increased # of women trained in public life skills:	3,090	4,600	4,700
Increased # of people sensitized through USAID/Nigeria DG activities:	3.25mil.	4.8mil.
Increased # of media organizations involved in USAID DG activities:	15	35	45
Increased # of NGOs networking on DG issues:	960	1,250	1,500
# of parliamentarians trained:	0	2000	2,500
# of election monitors trained:	0	10,000	10,500

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