The Power of Naija (1)

This is the first and only report which I have written on my time in Nigeria.  The primary reason for this is the lack of internet access or indeed stable electricity in most of the country but it is also because of the difficulty of putting the experience into words.  When attempting to define Nigeria a few common themes emerge.  A common conversation with a Nigerian will lead to a few questions about the international reputation of the country and Nigeria is mentioned in the news it tends to be associated with buzz words such as ‘corruption’ and ‘conflict’.  The fact of the matter is that Nigeria is an incredibly vast and complex nation, most of which is not represented by newsworthy stories that seep from the problematic Oil Delta Region and in more recent times, the Middle Belt.  Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and these problems do not exist in the south-west, the region that I was in.  I was instead treated with the utmost hospitality and friendliness and never felt myself to be limited in my work or leisure time.

My project

Local staff conducting HIV tests in Nigeria: Photo by Jack HamiltonMy volunteer project in Nigeria took on several forms centred on the topics of human rights and HIV/AIDS.  This involved working with orphans and vulnerable children as well as those living with the virus.  The NGO, called WADEM, provided me with a variety of tasks ranging from the organisation of ‘empowerment’ campaigns for those who had been victimised by stigmatisation and discrimination due to their HIV/AIDS status to conducting HIV/AIDS tests to writing a 20,000 word research report on the relationship between social factors and the virus in the state.  We also toured the schools in the local government areas to talk to the principles about dangers of discrimination and stigmatisation in the school environment and conduct surveys that could be used for research purposes.

Due to the scarce number of white people in Osogbo (in a city of around 200,000 people I never encountered another white person with the exception of other EIL volunteers coming to visit) I stuck out in the media and became a guest on radio shows as well as a fixture on local TV at times.  After giving a speech at a conference on HIV/AIDS it was not uncommon to see myself on the evening news.  It is quite a strange phenomenon to become a minor celebrity solely on the basis of skin colour but it can be used to help promote the message of the NGO, plus it does provide quite a large ego boost!  The media can help draw attention to simple problems such as not having enough tests to continue with HIV/AIDS testing or alerting people to the problems associated with stigmatisation and discrimination. 

Jack at an HIV/AIDS Conference in Nigeria: Photo by Jack Hamilton

The ostracising of people believed to be living with HIV/AIDS not only causes individual hardships but discourages people from taking the tests and helps to perpetuate myths about contraction.

The vast majority of people living with HIV/AIDS are in developing countries.  Some 90% of HIV positive cases are in the developing world and this number continues to increase.  Countries such as Nigeria only receive around 12% of the resources for research and prevention despite having approximately 95% of the cases.  Socioeconomic factors contributing to the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS in these countries include poverty, illiteracy, gender inequality, increased mobility of populations within and between countries, rapid industrialization and the breakdown of traditional values.  HIV/AIDS is becoming increasingly concentrated in young women who are often mothers meaning that it has an immense impact upon life expectancy, exacerbates inequality (for example, surviving orphans) and increases the burden upon health systems.  Governance, development and human rights are therefore interdependent in this field.

Jack Hamilton, from co. Down, together with the staff and the children of WADEM, the centre where he volunteered in Nigeria: Jack Hamilton, from co. Down, together with the staff and the children of WADEM, the centre where he volunteered in NigeriaAltogether, there are now 16 countries in Africa in which more than one tenth of the adult population aged 15-49 is infected with HIV.  While West Africa is less affected by HIV infection than the southern cone of the continent, the prevalence rates in some of the larger countries are shooting up.  Côte d’Ivoire is already among the 15 worst affected countries in the world and in Nigeria, by far the most populous nation in sub-Saharan Africa, over 5% of adults now have HIV.  These rises are not inexorable.  Uganda has brought its prevalence rate down to around 8% from a peak of nearly 14% in the early 1990s and there are signs that such success is being repeated across the continent.  A large increase in condom use probably contributed to these lower rates of infection as well as the decline in teenage pregnancy.....Read the second part of this story: The Power of Naija (2)