The Sociocultural Aspects of HIV/AIDS and Religion in Northern Nigeria

• Main Author: Akintunde, Adebayo Oluseyi
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2016
• Subjects: Geography; Public health; Sub Saharan Africa Studies
• ISBN: 133982485X; 9781339824857

One way of accounting for the lower rates of HIV infection in predominantly Muslim areas of the world is to consider the degree of tolerance for geographical regions that might allow community members to engage in practices specifically forbidden by the religion, whose proscriptions might offer some degree of protection against sexually transmitted diseases. Predominantly Muslim areas of Nigeria exhibit a lower tolerance for such spaces, which also tend to be highly segregated by ethnicity, religion, and gender. As the largest city in northern Nigeria, and the largest city in the savannah/Sahel region of Africa, Kano offers a somewhat higher degree of tolerance for such spaces compared to non-urban Muslim areas, and correspondingly Kano has a somewhat more elevated rate of seroprevalence than predominantly non-urban Muslim communities have. By focusing on the city of Kano, this research provides a context rich examination of communities with higher levels of tolerance for spaces that provide opportunities for members to engage in supposedly forbidden practices with respect to sexuality. Drawing on interviews and surveys in some selected communities in Kano, this study finds that religious practices such as reading of religious materials, proselytizing and the degree to which one is religious had a more significant impact on personal conduct linked to diseases than religious affiliations. The study also challenges the protective element that may be conferred by a religion as not so significant, particularly when members of that religion have a higher degree of tolerance for spaces and personal conduct that may be linked to sexually transmitted diseases