Nigeria has the second largest HIV Epidemic in the world(second to South Africa) and one of the highest rates of new infection in sub-Saharan Africa. Also the fourth highest Tuberculosis infection rate in the world. Many people living with HIV are unaware of their status, and Nigeria continues to fall short of providing the recommended HIV testing and counseling, treatments/maintenance of treatments,etc. Socially and politically, Unprotected heterosexual sex accounts for 80% of new HIV infections in Nigeria, with the majority of remaining HIV infections occurring in key affected populations such as sex workers. Many Southern States and a few other ones elsewhere have the highest rates of HIV infections, including Lagos, Oyo, Kaduna, Akwa-Ibom, Benue.
Social and Political regulations surrounding certain types of outlawed sexual behavior causes those who may be infected not to seek testing for HIV; pressure on people to marry causes many not to check their health status or that of their partner; pressure to have a male child increases likelihood of lack of contraception or exposure to multiple partners by spouse; formerly married women who may be sexually exploited yet lack opportunities for economic independence are at higher risk etc etc. People are misled to think that HIV is a thing of the past, and no longer poses a real threat due to medications. However, medications are not widely available in Nigeria, and most people with HIV having access to such medications do not do so on regular basis, do not maintain it well etc. As a result Nigeria is on the WHO critical list for multi-drug resistant strains of micro-organisms involved in diseases.
Medications do not cure HIV. They only help to manage the “viral
load” or levels of the virus’ content in their blood. Precautions are
supposed to be taken in living with an infected person that do prevent
infection of others. However casual contact in the community and in general,
does not spread HIV.
There is no risk of transmitting HIV between two people who are both uninfected. The problem is: How do you know? People do not always tell the truth, or do not always know that they are infected. Even if you are in a committed relationship (like people who may be engaged or even married) and can trust that your partner is not being exposed to HIV, you should still be tested before having unprotected sex if either of you had any chance of exposure to HIV in the past.
Also, if you were exposed to HIV just a few weeks before getting tested for HIV, the test result might indicate that you are not infected when in fact you are, but a test won’t show it until weeks later. So, both you and your partner should be tested once, and after about 3 to 6 months be tested a second time, before you can be sure that you are both HIV negative. This assumes that you both have committed to not having sex with anyone else, and that neither of you has been exposed to HIV since the first test. Remember that if you have a reason to be concerned about a recent HIV infection or have symptoms of early HIV infection, you should let your provider know so that you can be tested with an HIV viral load test that can detect HIV earlier.
Sometimes it is just easier to protect yourself through abstinence or protection than to keep track of other people. Many people can have things going on that you don’t know about. A part of keeping our communities healthy is to Educate ourselves on what is happening. HIV is a stigma and often chosen to be ignored in our rhethoric of pre-marital counseling, though genotype testing is emphasized. Encouraging HIV testing among the Nigerian population to ensure everyone knows their HIV status is key to any informed strategic plan. Without knowing the extent of how many people are living with HIV it is hard to mitigate new infections and provide HIV treatment to all.