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More women shun HIV-positive relatives

    JOHANNESBURG
    More men than women in Nigeria are willing to care for relatives living with HIV/AIDS, a new survey has found. A local newspaper, This Day, said the National HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health Survey for 2003 showed that although women were perceived to be more caring than men, fewer women were actually willing to care for HIV-positive relatives, regardless of their sex. The biennial survey suggested that such attitudes "can worsen the spread and the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic". The report states: "Due to the fear of discrimination, individuals living with HIV/AIDS may be less inclined to live freely, declare and acknowledge their HIV status. This can lead to continued under-reporting of the epidemic, and a resistance to the use of voluntary confidential counselling and testing services."

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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