Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 - 3 comments

What Drives the HIV Epidemic in Nigeria

The major drivers of the HIV epidemic in Nigeria includes: Poverty, according to the National Agency for Control of AIDS (NACA) in Nigeria, about 3 million Nigerians are living with the dreaded Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency syndrome (AIDS), and out of this number 60% are women.

Despite being the largest oil producer in Africa and the 12th largest in the world^, Nigeria is ranked 158 out of 177 on the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Poverty Index. This poor economic position meant that Nigeria is faced with huge challenges in fighting its HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Why young people keep getting infected with HIV/AIDS

Young people are often particularly vulnerable to sexually-transmitted HIV, and to HIV infection as a result of drug-use. Young people (15-24 years old) account for half of all new HIV infections worldwide – more than 6,000 become infected with HIV every day. More than a third of all people living with HIV or AIDS are under the age of 25, and almost two-thirds of them are women.

In many parts of the world, young people in this age-group are at particularly high risk of HIV infection from unprotected sex, sex between men and IV drug-use because of the very high prevalence rates often found amongst people who engage in these behaviors. Young people are especially vulnerable to exploitation that may increase their susceptibility to infection. Even if they are not currently engaging in risk behaviors, as they become older, young people may soon be exposed to situations that put them at risk.

Indeed, globally, most young people become sexually active in their teens.  The fact that they are – or soon will be – at risk of HIV infection makes young people a crucial target for AIDS education. Young people keep getting infected due to a large issues surrounding the means of Prevention, Contraction and Stigma & Discrimination among people living.

Moreso, Behavioral Change among young people is a challenge due cultural belief, peer Influence and largely lack of access to basic information about, sexuality & Reproductive health Education among young people.

How HIV/AIDS affect young people in Nigeria

HIV/AIDS affect young people in Nigeria in two major ways:

1. Socially: People who are infected with HIV around the world often suffer terribly from stigma, in that people who are HIV+ are somehow thought to be ‘dirty’, or to have ‘brought it on themselves’ by ‘immoral practices’. They often experience discrimination in terms of housing, medical care, and employment. These experiences, aside from being extremely distressing for HIV+ people, can also have the effect of making people reluctant to be tested for HIV, in case they are found to be HIV+. Stigma and discrimination often starts early – as name-calling amongst children. AIDS education can help to prevent this, halting stigma and discrimination before they have an opportunity to grow. Consider a Young person who tested positively he/she is faced with challenges such as Stigma& Discrimination among their peers, family rejection, work rejection, self stigma.
2. Economically: Not all young people are fortunate enough to attend school. This might be for one of a variety of reasons. In Nigeria, it is necessary to pay for schooling, and poor families may be unable to afford to send a child to school, or may be unable to send all their children to school. Sometimes children will be required to work, making them unavailable for school. In other areas, young people may live in areas where a local school is not accessible. In some situations, young people may have been excluded from school for reasons that might be due to the young person’s behavior, academic or intellectual abilities, or due to discrimination, positive young people are not economically productive cause of discrimination which they face from their workplace & community.

Unemployment

Another major economic challenge facing young people is Unemployment, in 2007, youth comprised 25 percent of the unemployed. The global economic downturn means that, in the near term, youth unemployment will continue to climb. Unemployment rates tell only part of the story, especially for the vast majority of youth who live in rural communities in Nigeria. For these young people, informal, insecure, and low- wage employment is the norm, no exception.

Taboos, HIV/AIDS and young people

There are many taboos and misconception about HIV/AIDS among young people due to misinformation. Major ways in which young people receive information about sex and HIV is through their peers. This is something that happens to a great extent – many young people receive their first information about sexuality from their friend and peers although this information is often distorted and inaccurate. For example, in some cultural traditions in Nigeria, young people are often restricted to talk about Sex because it been seen as a taboo or forbidden.

One of the most recurrent has been that traditional power structures are not geared to respond to the needs of women. As a youth organization we observe that “The first thing we realized when we opened our office was that to target women in purdah (seclusion in the home), it would be necessary to go through the men. Only then would our outreach and media work be accepted.

This piece is compiled by Oyelakin Oladayo Taiwo and Oreoluwa Matemilola, Association of Positive Youths Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, APYIN,

The views expressed in this blog-post are solely those of the author.