CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Taye Babaleye, Nigeria, November 1998
THEME = AIDS
The debate is no longer whether AIDS
is present in Nigeria.
The main problem now, is how to control its spread
Until fairly recently, media reports dealing with the presence of AIDS in Nigeria were taken with a pinch of salt. Indeed, Nigerians were adamant, AIDS was not present in their country! Much of the general disbelief and unconcerned attitude of the Nigerian public had to do with the early debate on the origin of the disease. Popular scientific opinion that the disease originated from Africa, definitely irked Nigerians.
Even when reports came out that some patients were actually dying of AIDS in Nigerian hospitals (the patients' names were never mentioned), not much attention was paid by the public to this news.
Women were the first group of people to be concerned about the news of AIDS' presence in Nigeria. Even then, they were more concerned with safeguarding their position as married women, rather than for any personal health reasons. They didn't want their gender to be associated with such a disease - it should be remembered that many Nigerian men do not see anything wrong in keeping one or two mistresses out of wedlock. If they think their wife has AIDS, they'll seek their "pleasure" elsewhere. The ladies, then, had a vested interest in supporting the sporadic government awareness campaigns concerning AIDS and its prevention.
The problem of HIV/AIDS also became a good preaching topic for church sermons where Christians are told to remain faithful to their wives. Even now that the campaign for the use of condoms as a preventive measure is gaining ground, many conservative Nigerian men abhor it. They believe it will make women sexually promiscuous. It will therefore take a lot of courage to see a woman recommend to her husband that he should use a condom!
AIDS symptoms are not immediately apparent to the sufferer. It can take anything from one month to ten years before the full-blown symptoms are fully manifest. This also contributes to the general lukewarm attitude of the public to the disease's inherent dangers. A health worker once stated: "I've heard people say that if one is forty years old and the disease won't manifest itself for another ten years, why worry?"
Today the scene is changing. The reality of the presence of the disease in Nigeria, dawned on every home when Nigeria's popular musician, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, died from AIDS in 1987. Since then, the medical authorities and other government agencies have been more forthcoming in their campaign against the spread of AIDS. The campaign has now been extended to include the churches, other religious organizations, schools, social clubs and other associations, in an effort to create public awareness on the dangers posed by the disease.
In November 1998, the government released the first official policy on HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD)s in Nigeria. As expected, the document urged all individuals and organizations to mount a vigorous campaign against the spread of the disease. The government policy states that all pregnant mothers be screened for HIV as part of routine prenatal care in hospitals. Counselling is also considered a major strategy to be adopted by doctors, pharmacists and all health workers in the control of AIDS.
In response to the government call, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) is already taking a bold step to halt the spread of the disease. Mrs. Eme Ekaette is PSN's president. She says: "We plan to tackle the problem from two angles, using the public awareness drive approach, to bring the problem of AIDS to the forefront of national consciousness. It is to be hoped that the increasing rate of the disease's spread will be halted and eventually decline. The awareness campaign will be community- orientated. The strategy is intended to save the nation's work force, because the age bracket of those afflicted by HIV/AIDS, often constitutes the country's workforce."
Secondly, the PSN proposes that the intensification of the awareness campaign should be matched with effective management of identified known cases. Mrs. Ekaette explains: "We have contacted the government about the use of appropriate drugs. With government support, 500 patients will profit from this treatment. We intend to import drugs directly from manufacturers in Europe, to supplement available local sources. Drugs coming from overseas, are expected to be available at reduced costs. Discussions have been initiated with the manufacturers in this regard, because drugs used in connection with the HIV virus are very expensive and not within the ordinary person's reach.
It's a fact that for some time, the Nigerian government has left the campaign against AIDS in the hands of non-governmental organizations (NGO)s, and other international agencies. These, have organized lectures, talks on health issues, and the training of personnel to enlighten the public about the dangers of the HIV/AIDS scourge. But for the contributions of donors such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the European Union (EU), and the Overseas Development Administration (ODA) which have been providing financial support to the local NGOs and the Federal Ministry of Health, perhaps nothing would been done by way of controlling the AIDS pandemic in Nigeria.
There were only two reported cases of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria in 1986. But by May 1998, 20,334 people had died from the disease. At the same time, more than two million Nigerians (about 2% of the entire population), are HIV-positive. These official figures may be grossly inaccurate. According to the PSN's 1996 survey, 80% of HIV infection in Nigeria is contracted through heterosexual relations, while the remaining 20% come from contaminated blood used in transfusions. Included in this figure are 4.5% of unborn babies infected by their pregnant mothers.
Statistics available indicate that AIDS cases are increasing by the day in Nigeria. Figures released by the National AIDS Control Program state that at least 1,400 new infections are recorded every day (one new infection per minute). According to that organization, more than half a million AIDS cases were recorded by November 1998. The National Coordinator of the AIDS/HIV Program in Nigeria, Dr. Sani Gwazo of the Federal Ministry of Health, recently stated that Nigeria ranks among the most AIDS- ravaged countries in the world.
Going by the dilapidated state of health-care facilities under the immediate past and present military governments in Nigeria, there is fear that the government policy on the control of HIV/AIDS may not succeed. At the moment, most of the 115 HIV/AIDS screening centres in the country are in a state of disrepair. The screening centres which were set up in the late 1980s, have the use of 76 laser screeners with a capacity to screen many samples at a time, cheaply. Also, there are 36 Rapid Test Kits which can handle one sample at a time, but are much more expensive to use. Experts believe that the government is not doing enough to give detailed reports on the HIV/AIDS situation in the country. Under a new pro- active control program, however, WHO recently made US $4 million available to the Nigerian government, while the ODA provided about 3 million pounds sterling to establish 154 new screening centres, five of them equipped as confirmatory centres, while 16 others will carry out Elisa testing.
Nigeria is still gambling with a scourge that can wipe out its entire work force in a matter of decades. If care is not taken, the nation might well be fighting a losing battle against AIDS.
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
PeaceLink 1999 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement