Miracle Cure Needed for Nigerian AIDS Surge: Up to 21 Percent Are HIV-Positive in Some Areas

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Miracle Cure Needed for Nigerian AIDS Surge: Up to 21 Percent Are HIV-Positive in Some Areas

Financial Times (www.ft.com) (12/01/00) P. 13
Wallis, William

Statistics show that 5.4 percent of the sexually active population in Nigeria was infected with HIV as of 1999. In parts of the country, however, up to 21 percent are HIV- positive, and up to 4.9 million people may be infected by 2003, according to some estimates. The Society for Family Health--founded 15 years ago by Professor Olikoye Ransome- Kuti, whose brother, singer Fela Kuti, died of AIDS--is helping to stem the spread of HIV in the country, distributing condoms and using witty AIDS information campaigns. The group distributes about 75 million Gold Circle condoms annually, and it tailors its education efforts to Nigeria's various religious and ethnic groups. SFH's David Valentine notes, "We target high-risk groups, chief of which are sex workers, truck drivers, soldiers, and itinerant traders and anyone hanging around junction towns."
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