UYO - The compact nature of Akwa Ibom communities is one of the major reasons for the high rate of HIV and AIDS spread in the state.
Dr Martin Akpan, Chairman, Akwa Ibom State Action Committee on HIV and AIDS (SACA), gave the reasons in an interview with newsmen in Uyo.
“We dropped from the second position to the fourth on the national chart on HIV and AIDS, but it is still not good enough.
“Akwa Ibom is a very compact state with a very mobile population and in terms of development it is a big boost to our state.
“But in terms of the spread of communicable diseases it is a big disadvantage,’’ he said. The SACA boss also blamed what he called “prophets of denial” as some of the factors responsible for the spread of the scourge in Akwa Ibom.
“Some churches tell their members that HIV and AIDS are not real. “Some of these mushroom churches and so-called pastors preach to their adherents that if there is anything like HIV and AIDS, it is not caused by a virus.
“They tell their followers that HIV and AIDS are caused by the power of witchcraft, which is not true,” he said.
Akpan also listed stigmatisation as another factor that promoted the spread of HIV and AIDS in Akwa Ibom.
“By the time you discriminate against people living with AIDS, they go underground and continue to spread the virus secretly to people.
“We cannot talk about the high prevalence of HIV and AIDS in the state without talking about the activities of the riverine people.
“The main occupation of the people is fishing. Most of them leave their homes to stay in fishing settlements, which has grave implication for family unity and fidelity.
“In the 2005 zero prevalence survey, we discovered that the highest prevalence rate was recorded in Oron in the entire country,” he said.
The SACA chief said that the activities of “medical quacks’’ were part of the problems. “Most of them use needles and razors and these are things that actually drive the epidemic in the state,’’ Akpan said.
He said among the factors identified for the spread of AIDS during field studies was that of the “unprotected” shoreline of Akwa Ibom.
“This attracts people to the state and most of them foreigners with their own problems,” he said.
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