AIDS activists from Nigeria and Russia participated in the 2006 Human Rights Advocates Program at Columbia University with support from the OSI Law and Health Initiative.

• Maria (Masha) Ovchinnikova directs the St. Petersburg chapter of the FrontAIDS Alliance, and has advocated for access to essential medicines and the human rights of people living with HIV and hepatitis C in Russia.
• Chukwumuanya Igboekwu, MD, is a program associate with Physicians for Social Justice in Nigeria and an advocate for access to essential medicines for HIV and increasing Nigeria's pool of health professionals.

Through the Columbia program, both Ovchinnikova and Igboekwu developed their skills at using human rights tools and standards in their health advocacy work.