InterPress News Service (IPS); Tuesday, 27 May 1997.
Remi Oyo

An estimated 41 million condoms are used each year in this West African nation, according to health statistics. Between 1992 and 1996, an estimated 165 million condoms were used, and nine million oral contraceptives, 280,000 units of the intra-uterine device and five million vaginal foams were distributed nationwide.

These numbers however are still low in a country of 118.4 million people, and health experts say that efforts must be stepped up to increase condom and contraceptive usage.

According to Julius Makanjuola, Director General in the Federal Ministry of Health, at least one million Nigerians are infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which causes the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

By current projections, says Bernard Edet, marketing manager of the Society for Family Health (SFH), more than seven million Nigerians will be infected with HIV by the year 2,000. Those most affected are aged 15-49.

Increased promiscuity, lack of information despite AIDS awareness and difficulties in the administration of reproductive health care are among some of the reasons for the spread of STDs, Edet adds.

SFH, a leading NGO in reproductive health, is largely supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Pathfinder, the British Overseas Development Agency and by the Nigerian and Dutch governments.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 'The State of the World Population 1997' report released on Wednesday, "little attention" has been paid to STDs until recently, yet there are an estimated 33 million new cases of STDs every year.

"Worldwide, the disease burden of STDs in women is more than five times that of men. STDs cause the second highest burden of disease for women aged 15-44 in developing countries after maternal mortality and morbidity," the UNFPA report says.

Women are mostly affected by STDs, because they are denied sexual and reproductive rights, including voluntary choice in marriage, sexual relations and childbearing, the UNFPA report adds.

It calls for the provision of qualitative reproductive health care and information to spare millions, especially women, from unnecessary deaths and suffering. The UNFPA report also urges an increase in global awareness on reproductive rights as an integral part of human rights.

In Sub-Saharan Africa in 1995, according to the report, there were 65 million new cases of curable STDs among adults.

Yomi Oduwole, SFH's Corporate Development Adviser, says Nigeria must increase the use of condoms to check the spread of STDS.

"The objective of SFH is to use social marketing to make condoms acceptable and available through a subsidy to make the commodity affordable to the poor," says Oduwole.

SFH is a major distributor of condoms and contraceptives in Nigeria.

Also, he adds, only 11.4 percent of Nigerian women of reproductive age use modern contraceptives. The 'The State of the World Population 1997' report estimates that 46 percent of Nigerians know of a contraceptive method, while 34 percent know of a source for contraceptives.

There are more than 33,300 family planning facilities available in the country. A recent demographic and health survey conducted by the Federal Office of Statistics showed that women do not use contraceptives due to lack of knowledge, religious beliefs and the quest for more children. Nigeria's total fertility rate is 5.97.

Research, Oduwole says, also has shown that the age at which young people engage in sexual intercourse for the first time has dropped below 13 years, underscoring the need for new strategies to promote education on STDs and teen-age pregnancies.

According to Edet, several NGOs working on reproductive health issues are collaborating to develop youth-friendly programmes, which include the use of peer educators, competitions to promote awareness on sex education and mass media programmes.(end/ips/ro/pm97)

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