Preventing The
Scourge Of HIV/AIDS In Nigeria
By
Dr. Idris Suleman
Hadejia (FWACP)
Department of
Community Medicine,
Ahmadu Bello
University, Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria
idrissuleman2003@yahoo.com
None of the problem
holding man in the 20th and 21st centuries – wars,
famine or crime is threatening to mankind as Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome (AIDS). The disease was concurrently discovered by Robert Gallo
of U.S.A and Lue Montgnier of France in 1981. Its causative agent is
called HIV, which stands for Human Immuno Deficiency Virus. Therefore, the
alarming rate of spread of AIDS, and the fact that people carry the virus
without even knowing it, coupled with the absence of cure compound the
dread and devastation of AIDS.
The few drugs available
are palliative out of reach of many Africans. The search for vaccines is
being pursued in many countries and some vaccines are already on trials
despite the enormous antigenic variability among different strains of the
virus and the ethical issues involved. The claim by Dr. J. Abalaka and co.
still remains to be substantiated.
Causes of the disease
are:
-
Unprotected sexual
intercourse, which could be heterosexual or homosexual.
-
Transfusion of
infected blood
-
Contacts with infected
blood and other body fluids like semen
-
Mother to child
transmission etc.
Some of the
challenges associated with this disease are the following:
-
The prevalence is on
the rise from single case diagnosed in 1986 in Nigerian adolescent girl
to a figure of 3.8 million by 2005. Now in every 20 Nigerians 1 is HIV
positive. (See The DFID publication, 3rd Quarter, 2005).
-
There is no vaccine or
cure for the disease.
-
Collapsing medical
service and infrastructure.
-
Pervading poverty,
ignorance, hunger and decay in morality and little or no concern for
other people's predicament
-
High cost and
unavailability of drugs(antiretro viral drugs) to use as a palliative
measure.
-
Resistance to change
our attitude, practice and behaviour towards the disease.
-
Population explosion.
Perhaps the 21st
century and its attendant breakthroughs especially in the aspect of
medicine may gladden the heart of the millions with the millennium gift –
a vaccine for HIV/AIDS. Wonders shall never end! And for every ailment
there is always a cure.
How to prevent
further spread:
-
Value for life; the
responsibility of halting the geometrical spread of the HIV scourge
rests entirely on us the human species. If only we will agree to value
our lives better and be less promiscuous, we would certainly stand a
better chance of avoiding the virus. It is sad to state that conduct of
most of us in this respect is not totally not encouraging. To attain
this, we have modify our behavior, learn and adapt safer sex approaches
and through education. In addition, we should be faithful to our
partners and where possible abstinence is the surest way to prevention.
-
Having the courage,
guts and audacity to vary old norms, culture and value – Twenty years
ago and even now, in many cultured societies worldwide, particularly
Nigeria, it is a taboo to imagine a man suggesting to his wife to be to
undergo a HIV screening before marriage or the woman asking the man for
same
-
Continuous creation of
awareness and community mobilization aimed at imparting knowledge and
behaviour change or modification.
-
Subsidy on
ARV(antiretroviral) drugs as well as looking inwards into local
production as exemplified by some developing countries like South Africa
and India.
-
Poverty alleviation
-
Health sector reform
-
Institutionalization
of hospital home based and community care for those already infected.
Finally, the epidemic of
HIV is increasing in both space and time and may continue spreading
geometrically if no quick measure is taken. We are today 5 years into the
new millennium but the rate at which the disease is claiming more lives is
quite astounding. I will in my subsequent write ups try to bring the
statistics of HIV/AIDS prevalence in Nigeria by states. As we do that we
should intensify effort to combat HIV/AIDS and the time to act is now or
never!
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