South South, Middle Belt, South East top use of 578million condoms in every year
By Stella Akanbi
Nigerians use a total number of 578million condoms in one year, research released at the weekend has shown. In the report, the number of condoms used in the country is led by South-South, the Middle Belt and the South East states. This may also a combination of high sex prevalence also a greater awareness of HIV prevention.
The least use of condom is the North East, followed by the North West and the South West.
A new report by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in collaboration with NACA and the NOI Polls indicated that Nigerians across the 36 states use the total of 587million but this is even short of the expectation of national average. This may suggest areas were sex is more active in the country.
Nigerians were also asked to remain alert on the existence of HIV and AIDs in the country, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, (NACA) has said.
The anti-HIV and AIDs group urged Nigerians to be conscious of HIV and AIDs. during the Valentine’s day marked every February 14. NACA Director-General, Dr. Gambo Aliyu in a statement made available to Irohinoodua said young women and men in the age bracket of 20 to 24 are more susceptible to HIV and AIDs than men in the same age bracket indicating that more Nigerian young girls have HIV infection more than their male counterparts.
Aliyu said “However, this period witnesses a lot of young people showing love in risky ways. Many impulsive decisions are made in the heat of the moment such as unprotected sex which often leads to unwanted pregnancies and increased risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.
Speaking further he said ‘The difference in HIV prevalence between women and men is greatest among younger adults, with young women aged 20-24 years more than three times as likely to be living with HIV as young men in the same age group.”
The agency further stated that among children aged 0-14 years, HIV prevalence is 0.2 per cent.He groups that Nigeria needs some 1.15bn condoms yearly to meet the national average. The report was released by the Prevention Programme Manager, AHF, Adeleye Taofik. This means Nigeria needs some 564m condoms condom annually in order to achieve 90 percent coverage across the country.
