ASSESSMENT OF PSYCHO-SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ADAPTATION AMONG PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Globally, the pandemic of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has continued to pose serious health and socio – economic challenges. (Afolabi, Afolabi, Odewale&Olowookers, 2013).There were 23 million new HIV infection globally, showing a (33%) decline in the number of new infections from 3.4 million in 2001. HIV/AIDS in Africa was one of the most important global public health issues of our time, and perhaps, in the history of mankind. In Africa, AIDS was one of the top causes of death.While only comprising slightly fewer than (15%) of the total population of the world, Africans account for nearly (70%) of those who live with HIV and were dying of AIDS (AIDS in Africa, 2014). However, Southern Africa exhibits pandemic-level HIV infection rates, with extreme levels in the countries of Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and Zambia. By contrast, some countries in North Africa have HIV prevalence rates lower than most cities in the United State of America. Countries in Western Africa include Senegal, the Gambia, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d‟Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Nigeria, and the landlocked states of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger ( AIDS in Africa,2014).

Similarly, United Nation (2015) reported that, Nigeriawas the second highest HIV/AIDS burden in the world with 3.4 million living with the virus in 2014. The figure represents (4.1%) national prevalence rates as found from the United Nation Programmeon AIDS(UNAIDS).According to United Nation Programme on AIDS (2016), at November 2015 in every region of the world there were three or four countries that were devastated with the epidemic. For example in sub-Saharan Africa just three countries – Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda account for 48% of all new HIV infections. World Health organization (2016),

documented that 37 million people were living with HIV in 2016 globally. However,HIV 1

prevalence by United Nation Programmed on AIDS (UNIADS) in Nigeria was3.2% among the adult population, giving a total of 3.4 million Nigerians living with HIV (Nigerian Health Watch, 2016).In Nigeria, Kaduna state rank among the worst hit by HIV/AIDS with approximately 400,000 people living with the virus (Adeoti& Dung, 2012).Kaduna State has a prevalence of 9.2% and only 24% of children has access to antiretroviral drugs (Abubakar, 2015).

ASSESSMENT OF PSYCHO-SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ADAPTATION AMONG PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS IN NIGERIA