Hiv in Nigeria
The history of HIV and AIDS in Nigeria
The first two HIV cases in Nigeria were identified in 1985 and were reported at an international AIDS conference in 19866. In 1987 the Nigerian health sector established the National AIDS Advisory Committee, which was shortly followed by the establishment of the National Expert Advisory Committee on AIDS (NEACA).
At first the Nigerian government was slow to respond to the increasing rates of HIV transmission7 and it was only in 1991 that the Federal Ministry of Health made their first attempt to assess the Nigerian HIV/AIDS situation. The results showed that around 1.8 percent of the population of Nigeria were infected with HIV. Subsequent surveillance reports revealed that during the 1990s the HIV prevalence rose from 3.8% in 1993 to 4.5% in 19988.
A poster encouraging sexual abstinence in Nigeria
When Olusegun Obasanjo became the president of Nigeria in 1999, HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care became one of the government’s primary concerns. The President’s Committee on AIDS and the National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA) were created, and in 2001, the government set up a three-year HIV/AIDS Emergency Action Plan (HEAP). In the same year, Obasanjo hosted the Organisation of African Unity’s first African Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Other Related Infectious Diseases9.
Despite these positive intentions for tackling the epidemic, in 2006 it was estimated that just 10 percent of HIV-infected women and men were receiving antiretroviral therapy and only 7 percent of pregnant women were receiving treatment to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV10.
How is HIV transmitted in Nigeria?
Some 80% of HIV infections in Nigeria are transmitted through heterosexual sex. Factors contributing to this include a lack of information about sexual health and HIV, low levels of condom use and high levels of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea, which make it easier for
The first two HIV cases in Nigeria were identified in 1985 and were reported at an international AIDS conference in 19866. In 1987 the Nigerian health sector established the National AIDS Advisory Committee, which was shortly followed by the establishment of the National Expert Advisory Committee on AIDS (NEACA).
At first the Nigerian government was slow to respond to the increasing rates of HIV transmission7 and it was only in 1991 that the Federal Ministry of Health made their first attempt to assess the Nigerian HIV/AIDS situation. The results showed that around 1.8 percent of the population of Nigeria were infected with HIV. Subsequent surveillance reports revealed that during the 1990s the HIV prevalence rose from 3.8% in 1993 to 4.5% in 19988.
A poster encouraging sexual abstinence in Nigeria
When Olusegun Obasanjo became the president of Nigeria in 1999, HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care became one of the government’s primary concerns. The President’s Committee on AIDS and the National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA) were created, and in 2001, the government set up a three-year HIV/AIDS Emergency Action Plan (HEAP). In the same year, Obasanjo hosted the Organisation of African Unity’s first African Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Other Related Infectious Diseases9.
Despite these positive intentions for tackling the epidemic, in 2006 it was estimated that just 10 percent of HIV-infected women and men were receiving antiretroviral therapy and only 7 percent of pregnant women were receiving treatment to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV10.
How is HIV transmitted in Nigeria?
Some 80% of HIV infections in Nigeria are transmitted through heterosexual sex. Factors contributing to this include a lack of information about sexual health and HIV, low levels of condom use and high levels of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea, which make it easier for