Michael Akanji (born 1984) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

descent. He is a Sexual Health and Rights Advocate. He was the director of The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERs) and presently, Nigerians key population advisor for Heartland Alliance International.

Biography

Michael Akanji was born in September 1984. He has studied at the Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa, Federal University of Technology, Minna and

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...

. He is a Sexual Health and Rights Advocate whose works focus on the

LGBTQI ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is an ...

and

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

. Michael works across the West African region. Michael has worked across board with different organizations including UN as a research member on the Young People Report “
UNGASS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS: Our Voices Our Future
'�

project. He was also a member of the Local Organizing Committee of the First National Conference on Inclusivity, Equality, And Diversity in University Education in Nigeria. Michael is a 2015 fellow of the United States

International Visitor Leadership Program The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is a professional exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The mission of IVLP is to offer current and emerging international leader ...

. He is a co author of ''Through the Gender Lens'' and has been a contributor and coauthor of a number of publications.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akanji, Michael 1984 births Living people Nigerian activists Yoruba writers Nigerian writers