In a bid to discourage young girls from prostitution, an NGO known as the Civil Society for HIV/Aids in Nigeria, has expressed its desire to empower 154 commercial sex workers in Gombe State with income generating activities. Bachama Yusuf, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of the group, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe on Thursday that it was a World Bank assisted the project, in collaboration with the State Action Committee on HIV/Aids (SACA). He said;
“Our mission is to reduce the spread of HIV/Aids in the communities.“We were made to understand that in spite of the awareness, some communities were still ignorant about it.“We are sure if we empower the sex workers, they will stop prostitution because most of them are doing it because of poverty.”
He also explained that each beneficiary would receive a sewing machine, knitting machine or money to start business, depending on the type of business she chooses to do.