nigeria: women bear aids burden
There is growing concern over the disproportionate increase in the number of women living with HIV/AIDS in Africa. A paper by the Women Empowerment and Reproductive Rights Centre (WERRC) critically examines factors that promote the vulnerability of women to HIV infection under the patriarchal system in Africa, with a focus on Nigeria.
Find below the Executive Summary of a Monograph entitled:
HIV/AIDS, Human Rights and Women in Nigeria published by
the Women Empowerment and Reproductive Rights Centre (WERRC).
Free electronic copies of this monograph are available
on request at: [email protected]
Please note also that hard copies will be available at WERRC
office at N50.00 (fifty naira) per copy for buyers in Nigeria
and US $1 per copy for oversea buyers plus freight from
November 1st, 2002.
WERRC office is located at : 2nd Floor, Oshopey Plaza,
By Fortune Bank Entrance, 11/17, Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos.
Ejiro Joyce Otive-Igbuzor
Executive Director, WERRC
Email: [email protected]
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Executive Summary of the monograph: HIV/AIDS, Human Rights
and Women in Nigeria
HIV/AIDS has emerged as a major bane of sustainable development
in Africa. In addition to hindering further development, it is
indeed turning back the hands of the clock. Since its emergence
in the early 1980s, life expectancy is said to have reduced to
42 years from 67 years for the average African during the
pre-HIV/AIDS era.
Some ministries in Tanzania are said to be losing up to 20
employees a month; over 100 primary schools were closed down
between 1996 and 1998 owing to the death of teachers from AIDS
in Central African Republic; 10-50 percent of soldiers in most
African armies are HIV-positive; about 7 million farm workers
in Africa have died of AIDS. HIV/AIDS therefore is, for Africa,
much more than another medical problem as it creates hunger,
illiteracy, and poverty and constitutes a security risk. These
factors in turn augur well for further spread of HIV/AIDS and
other diseases.
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, bears 10% of the
African burden of 28 million out of about 37 million people
living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. A growing concern is the
disproportionate increase in the number of women living with
HIV/AIDS in Africa. This paper critically examines factors that
promote the vulnerability of women to HIV infection under the patriarchal system in Africa, with a focus on Nigeria.