HIV infection rising among rural communities in South East

November 1, 2005 :: Chinedu Eze,Abakaliki Thisday

South Eastern states has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence among rural communities in Nigeria and this is attributed to the "seasonal migration" of people from the urban areas to rural communities during festival periods.

This was the observation of Dr Alvin Enyi, disclosed during a workshop titled "Scaling Up Intervention Response Strategies Against HIV/AIDS" held in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state capital. He said, that while other parts of the country recorded higher number of HIV/AIDS cases in the cities, the South East has more cases in rural communities.

Enyi who is the director of Basic Health Initiative, a non governmental organization attending to HIV/AIDS patients and involved in research on the pandemic, explained that every December, South Easterners return home to celebrate Christmas and the New Year, which create the opportunities for interaction between the rural dwellers and those who return from other parts of the country especially the cities.

Many of such interaction, he stated, lead to sexual intercourse and other intimate relationship, which sometimes lead to the spread of the disease among residents in rural communities.

Another reason, he proffered, for high prevalence of the disease in the rural areas of the South East is because when some people within the zone are diagnosed of HIV/AIDS they are taken back to their communities "where they are attended to by their ageing mothers and relations. And they stay there and whither away and eventually succumb to death."

He stated that there are concerted efforts to fight the disease in Ebonyi state and gave kudos to another NGO, Widowcare Foundation, which has been providing those living with the disease in the state with free antiretroviral drugs and medical service.

 Enyi recalled that Ebonyi had the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate until last year when it was over taken by Enugu state, stating that more caregivers are needed to attend to those who are suffering from the pandemic. He commended the state government for the support it has been giving to the State Action Committee on HIV/AIDS (SACA), which he described as the most active in the fight against the epidemic in the South East, noting that government."