Poverty in its various forms constitutes a major health threat to the epidemic; women account for nearly half of the forty million. Reproductive Health Survey, Nigeria, 2003.

Despite this alarming transmission and how to prevent infection, the little they know is rendered useless by the discrimination and violence they suffer. It is as a result of this that this work examines poverty as a major health threat to Nigerian women.

Health threat questions certain cultural constructs of masculinity and their effects on issues of HIV and AIDS, arguing at the same time that the health burden placed on women by HIV and AIDS and its attendant effects can be addressed by stressing the idea of social justice.

Introduction

Social justice entails promoting the rights of persons. It aims at improving and enhancing the quality of life of all people by emphasising issues of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It also extends to the right to negotiate sex by women, increased and equal economic opportunities, the rule of law, and the rights of persons belonging to minorities. It helps reduce health risks.

The threat of Gender Inequality

Protecting the human rights of women and girls may consequently protect them from HIV and AIDS. The work therefore concludes by stressing that there is an urgent need to address the triple threat of gender inequality, poverty and HIV and AIDS. By tackling these forces simultaneously, the spread of the epidemic and its devastating consequences on Nigerian women may be reduced.

A health threat brings poverty.  Poverty resulting from HIV and AIDS interacts with many other manifestations, including lack of income and productive resources sufficient to ensure sustainable livelihood, hunger and other basic services, increased morbidity and mortality from and social discrimination and exclusion (World Summit for Social Development, 1995: 57).

Characteristics of Poverty

For health, poverty is characterised by a lack of participation and a lack of decision-making in civil, social and cultural life that occurs in pockets of poverty amid wealth in developed countries and loss as a result of disaster or conflict. The poverty of low-wage workers and the utter destitution of people who fall outside family support systems, social institutions and safety nets. (World Summit for Social Development, 1995: 57).

Again, poverty, in its various forms, represents a barrier to communication and access to services, as well as a major health risk, as people in poverty are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of disasters and conflicts.

Poverty becomes absolute when it is characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, good sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information.

Poverty Versus HIV/AIDS

However, poverty and HIV and AIDS are closely related. Just as poverty is a major challenge facing Nigerian women, so also is HIV and AIDS one of the major public health challenges undermining development in the poorest countries in the world, such as Nigeria.

The relationship between poverty and HIV and global economic development; HIV and AIDS are a major threat to humans in much of and HIV and world. For them, poverty increases the spread of HIV/AIDS.

HIV was first reported in Nigeria in 1986. The prevalence of HIV among pregnant women was 1.8 per cent in in1991,45 per cent in 2003 (National HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health Survey, Nigeria 1).

The Epidemic

The epidemic has since extended beyond the high-risk group to the general population. Some parts of the country are worse off than others, but no state or community is unaffected. All the states of Nigeria have pregnant women.

(National HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health Survey, Nigeria 2003, and Federal Ministry of Health, Technical Report, 2005:4).

The HIV and AIDS epidemic in Nigeria can be described as some declining while others are still rising. From the results of the 2003 survey, it was estimated that 3.5 million people were living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria.

The report also showed that HIV was more prevalent in the 20-29 age group, in the urban areas and among persons with only primary and secondary school education (National HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health Survey, Nigeria2003, and Federal Ministry of Health, Technical Report, 2005, p.4).

The Improvement

HIV and AIDS cases in health care are becoming more visible in Nigerian communities. Concerning the extent to which the epidemic has been reported, one can say that it has been characterised by under-recognition, under-reporting and delayed reporting. And the number of reported cases has been on the increase, especially since 1996.

Since the first case of AIDS in Nigeria was reported in 1986, the HIV and AIDS epidemics have continued to evolve. The first sentinel surveillance survey showed an HIV prevalence rate of 1.8% in 1991. Subsequent sentinel surveys showed increasing prevalence rates of up to 5.8% in 2001 and then a decline to 4.4% in 2005 (HIV and AIDS Technical Report,2010).

Research Analysis of Poverty

However, the 2008 prevalence of 4.6% showed a slight reversal in the downward trend, thereby generating some interest. The HIV epidemic, being monitored through common rates, appears to be consistent with the national trend. But there has been a wide variation across the States and sites with consistent hot spots. HIV prevalence has consistently remained high in some States and low in others. While the prevalence has shown an exception in one State with a consistent rise.

Since 2003, all the States in the country have had a generalised epidemic. Estimates from the 200S ANC survey showed that 2.87 million persons were living among women aged 25-29 years (5.6%), followed closely by those. Also, the survey showed the highest prevalence among women with only secondary-level education (5.8%). In 2007, the national population-based survey showed an overall HIV prevalence of 3.6% (4.0% among females and 3.2% among males) (NARHS,2007).

High Risks

Health threat among the high-risk groups, female sex workers, constitutes a major carrier of HIV infection. HIV prevalence among this group has remained high and on the increase from 17.5% among brothel-based Female Sex Workers FSWs) in 1991 through 22.5% in 1993(FMOH high-risk survey) to 37.4% in 2007 (See HIV and AIDS Technical Report, 2010).

HIV and AIDS have extended beyond the commonly classified high-risk groups and are now common in the general population. HIV infection in Nigeria cuts across both sexes and all age groups.

However, youths between the ages of 20-29 are more infected, with zero-prevalence rates of 4.9% for the 25-29 age group and 4.7% for the 20-24 age group. The number of HIV-positive children is increasing, with mother-to-child transmission as the principal route of infection.

The number of children orphaned by AIDS has also increased substantially to an estimated 1.2 million (FMOH, 2006).

By all indications, the HIV and AIDS epidemics have continued to grow largely through heterosexual unprotected sexual relationships, mother-to-child-transfusion and contaminated blood and blood products (FMOH, 2007).

The epidemiology

Highlighting the epidemiology of HIV and AIDS, the 2010 technical report explains that globally, the pandemic of HIV and AIDS has continued to constitute serious health and socio-economic challenges for more than two decades.

In underdeveloped and developing countries, it has reversed many of the health and developmental gains over the past three decades, as reflected by the mortality rate, among others.

The epidemic has also facilitated other opportunistic infections. As of the end of 2009, about 33.3 million persons were estimated to be infected with HIV globally. Of these,22.5 million (that is, 68% of the global total) were in HIV in the world after South Africa (UNAIDS HIV epidemic update 2010).

Conclusion

About one out of every four persons in Nigeria had seen someone with awareness of HIV and AIDS was generally very high (93.8%). Unfortunately, the health threat in the HIV/AIDS epidemic is often described as a woman’s epidemic.

Women are particularly vulnerable to this infection, and more and more women are becoming infected. (Smyke, 1991: 98). In Nigeria, despite an overwhelming number of civil society organisations on gender issues and an intimidating number of top female political appointees.

It ranges from Supreme Court judges, ministers, deputy governors, directors-general and permanent secretaries to ambassadors. Poverty still has women’s faces. You can read more similar posts on our news page of the site.