Niger Delta Human Development Report - UNDP Nigeria - United ...

the associated risks of HIV infection is
low. On participant aptly summarized:
“We do not have any knowledge of
HIV&AIDS because there is no
enlightenment.” Another discussant said,
“HIV&AIDS means many things to many
people. While the elites know much about
it, the illiterates know very little and
sometimes nothing about AIDS. It is a
disease from God.” Responses like these
underscore the need for rapid sensitization
on HIV and AIDS prevention, control
and management.
National Action Committee on AIDS
revealed that only Cross River and Akwa
Ibom performed above the national
average on HIV&AIDS advocacy and
sensitization (see chart 4.8).
Given the low level of understanding about
HIV&AIDS in the Niger Delta, it is not
surprising that a significant number of
people believe that HIV&AIDS can be
prevented and/or cured by traditional
healers and medicines. Some take risks
when they consume concoctions, before
or after sex, that they believe are sure
antidotes to HIV. Many people in the
Niger Delta simply believe that the disease
is not real. During one of the focus group
discussions, a teacher stated that the AIDS
scare is a grand design by the developed
world to subject the developing countries
to their whims and caprices. The following
is another of the responses from the
discussions that reflects the lack of
understanding:
The 2003 NDHS corroborates this view.
In the South-South region, it reveals that
about 10 per cent of women and eight per
cent of men have yet to hear about
HIV&AIDS. It is also evident that
knowledge about HIV prevention is very
low. Only 47.1 per cent of women and 49.8
per cent of men knew about prevention
techniques such as using condoms and
limiting sex to one uninfected partner. This
figure was 52.4 per cent for women and
69 per cent for men in the South-West
region (NDHS 2003: 170-171). The recent
assessment of 17 Nigerian states by the
Chart 4.8: State Responses on HIV/AIDS Scope of Intervention, Advancy and
Resources
NIGER DELTA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT
The social stigma attached to carriers of
HIV&AIDS has also hampered efforts to
curb the spread of the disease. One focus
group participant said, “Stigma does not
allow people to open up. They claim other
problems of poison or witchcraft when
they have AIDS.”
In the Niger Delta, as in most regions of
Nigeria, harmful traditional practices add
an extra dimension of risk in contracting
HIV. These include female genital
mutilation (FGM), widowhood rites and
body scarification.
FGM, which is widespread in some parts
of the Niger Delta, is usually performed
by traditional healers or circumcisers. This
“It happens. People die suddenly
and you do not know the cause of
their deaths. Men will marry their
wives and die too. It happens.”
– Focus group participant
Traditional practices
put people at high risk
of acquiring HIV from
unsterilized surgical
instruments.
Widowhood rites as
practiced in some parts
of the Niger Delta, such
as Edo and Delta states,
may put a woman at
risk.
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