Daini OA; International Conference on AIDS (15th : 2004 : Bangkok, Thailand).

Int Conf AIDS. 2004 Jul 11-16; 15: abstract no. TuPeE5583.

HIV/AIDS Restoring Hope and Life Trust, Abuja, Nigeria

Issues: The paradigm shift in the geo-anthropological distribution of HIV/AIDS from the urban to the rural communities in many African societies and from 15 to 49 age groups to a wider age range is becoming worrisome. Dearth of appropriate interventions, among other factors, has been attributed to this phenomenon. Generally, lack of information, lack of financial resources and most importantly lack of human resources are responsible for this. Consequent upon the rural to urban drift of human population engendered by civilization and industrialization, the traditional institutions remain the only dependable institution that could be saddled with development responsibilities in the rural areas. But, traditional pedigree and monarchism may make many of such institutions too rudimentary to perform the responsibilities. Description: This paper will focus on the factors responsible for the paradigm shift and will identify the roles of traditional heads at the community level in a multi-sectoral response, using Nigerian communities as an example. The paper will expatiate on the cost effectiveness and cost-benefit of community-led response vis-a-vis the need for ownership of programmes for sustainability. The paper will be circulated among Civil Society Organizations for advocacy and will be published in the author's other works. This paper is based on the observed trend of urban-rural HIV/AIDS prevalence distribution as revealed by the national sentinel survey. Lessons learned: Lack of adequate care and support systems in the urban areas with the resultant return of ill People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) to the rural areas, where there is little or no interventions may be contributing to the shift in the trend of the epidemic. Recommendation: The capacity of the traditional leaders in the rural communities need be built for maximum positive impact of national HIV/AIDS response.

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
• Demography
• Disease Outbreaks
• HIV Infections
• HIV Seropositivity
• Health Facilities
• Health Resources
• Health Services Needs and Demand
• Humans
• Interpersonal Relations
• Poverty
• Prevalence
• Residence Characteristics
• Rural Population
• Social Environment
• methods

Other ID:

• GWAIDS0039162

UI: 102283378

From Meeting Abstracts