Available statistical evidence suggested that the cumulative number of
estimated hiv infection world wide
stands at over 50million since the beginning of the pandemic across the globe,
no continent has escape the virus and its prevalence varies among region and
countries. Within this context that Africa is home to nearly 70% of adult and
80% of children living with hiv in the world, and has buried three quarters of
the more than 20million world wide who have died of AIDS since the pandemic
began” in other words, the pandemic has being the leading course of in the
continents today, coursing one in five known cases of death especially woman
who are disproportionately affected and infected. Empirical evidence from the
continent indicates that 55% of the infected adult is women. The devastating
trend of the pandemics in sub-Sahara Africa call for concern.
This is more so, when in other region of the
world the pandemic has not yet become endemic in the general population. It has
only been restricted to certain groups of the society such as the intervention
drug user, commercial sex workers and homosexuals. As HIV enters its third
calamitous decades, it has been spreading at alarming rates.
Many factors including poverty, illiteracy
cultural practices human settlement condition and globalization are responsible
for the wide spread of HIV/AIDS aside
from the factors, perhaps, the fact that the pandemic is only spreading faster
in female than the other counterparts but that is also spreading fast amongst
youth is of great concern to
environmentalist and other professionals. One major factor responsible
for the high spread of the pandemic is poverty aggravated by powerlessness.
Poverty is a complex concept which is often
discussed in wide range of context that include deficit of resources, lack of
opportunities, lack of psychological human and social needs, lack of
entitlements and deprivation. Factors that influence poverty in urban areas
vary from those found in rural areas urban people face high transportation
cost, education, housing food, health and health care, and thus more dependent
on income compared to their rural counterparts. It is worthy of note that the
average income amongst urban adult in most developing countries including sub- Sahara Africa is less than two dollar
per-day.
Thus in a climate of economic
deprivation, low per capital income and equal distribution of income, an
alternative means of survival must be sought to eke out living. Invariably, indulgence
in indiscriminate sex for monetary gains becomes prominent in the life styles
among young women especially in urban area.
At the same time, more than 70% of urban
dwellers in slum Africa which Nigeria is no exception are living in extreme
poverty with little or no access to basic infrastructure facilities. They live
in slum areas which are characterized by inadequacies in term in terms of
available quality and quantity employment opportunities; housing; health care;
shortage of community facilities; lack of open spaces; squalid environment and
joxterpositoned houses. The poor physical structure and environmental quality
is associated with the poor people and poverty. Unemployment combined with weak
social services, misguided policies and increasing disparities resulting from
bad governance have in many cities resulted in a high degree of social
exclusion.
Which transmit into increased
incidence of shelter poverty in particular, and social dysfunction associated
with the spread of HIV/AIDS pandemic. In a situation where a housing
neighborhood lacks recreational facilities perhaps the option of recreation of
recreation available to youths living in such environment is indulgence is
precocious sex. In the contemporary world where there is increase in mobility
and industrialization, cities are witnessing changes in there social and ethnic
cultural make up.
The liberalization of global trade and
investment has brought about considerable movement of the people and the mixing
of social-cultural behavior pattern. While this trend has contributed to the
social capital and cultural diversity of cities it has also created more
challenges in terms of rapid spreads of the pandemic.
Trend in globalization indicates that
migration have affected the spread of HIV/AIDS negatively. Males’ moves from
villages to cities to find work industrial enterprise such as mines, official
road and dam building projects attract migrant labour.The resulting
concentration of individual in urban areas due to labour migration in
conjunction with the relaxation of social norms and the adoption of risk
behavior could be considered an important factor in the spread of HIV/AIDS.
The various policies and programmes of
government that include a narrow focus on health aspect of the pandemic alone
seemingly aggravate the spread. AIDS has proven to be an extra ordinary kind of
crises. It is not only a human crises, it is a treat to sustainable goal,
social and economic development. It therefore requires continuous effort and
long term strategies towards curbing the spread of the pandemic. Community
empowerment strategy goes a long way in to curb the scourge and in this
regards, traditional information, education and communication messages have
been found to be use full way of leading appropriate behavior. Research has
shown that true participation at family level and community level in analyzing
their situation with respect to HIV/AIDS is a prerequisite to success in
addressing aspect of the pandemic, including stigma and discrimination.
Adaptations to sexual economic and social
behavior to threat of HIV infection are better achieved by the people
themselves and not by institution.
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