Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) Dr. Temitope Ilori, has explained why more women and girls test positive for HIV in Nigeria.
Ilori listed reasons such as early initiation to sex of girls by older men, poverty and other socioeconomic and sociocultural factors in an interview with Sunday Punch.
“As I stated earlier, there are some things we call social determinants of health such as economy, cost of living, education, employment, trade, girl-child education, women empowerment, and other socio-economic factors that have roles to play. They work hand-in-hand, and we have to address some of these things to reduce new HIV infections”. Ilori was quoted as saying.
She added: “In Nigeria, our national prevalence of HIV/AIDS is 1.3 per cent. Women account for 59 per cent of this population, which is more than males.
“Young people from 15 to 49 years of age account for most of the new infections. It’s popular among the younger generation. Of course, 15 to 49 years is the reproductive age for women especially. That’s when they start their sexual debut, relationship, and all that”.
“We’ll say it is popular among women biologically because of the way the woman’s body is. In terms of sexual intercourse, their reproductive system makes them a bit vulnerable, and with this, the virus can enter their body system.
“And, of course, we have socio-economic issues too. In many societies including Nigeria, women cannot negotiate for sex even with their partners whether married or unmarried”.
Speaking further on the impact of women’s position in sociocultural terms, “In boyfriend and girlfriend relationships, the females cannot negotiate for sex to wear condoms or other protective measures. Also, the socio-economic effect is when they don’t have the income to cater for themselves, they become dependent.
“Even with commercial sex workers, women are more vulnerable. The early girl marriage is also a factor. We have so many biological and socio-economic factors that make the girl-child or woman very vulnerable to HIV infection. And that’s why there is such a high rate among women and young adults”.
Be the first to comment