This radio program discusses HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. It begins by interviewing locals who have misconceptions about how HIV can be transmitted, such as through mosquitos or witchcraft. An expert doctor then explains that HIV is transmitted through unprotected sex, contaminated blood transfusions, needle sharing, and from mother to child. He emphasizes that HIV testing and treatment are important and available even in rural areas. The program then highlights the stigma faced by those living with HIV and how discrimination can negatively impact one's social support and economic opportunities. Anti-stigma laws are discussed as a way to protect rights and prevent further spread of misinformation.

1. HEALTH PERISCOPE
HEALTH
Aired Tuesday , November 19, 2013, - 13; 15 ET
EKENE ODIGWE, HOST: hello and welcome to health periscope, a programm that looks at
ways of maintaining a healthy living, in today’s edition of the programme,we will be looking at
ways of tackling HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, My name is Ekene Odigwe, HIV/ AIDS has been a
health and social issue in nigeria and else where at all times, it is a social factor because it affects
the attitude of people towards those living with it. This is where common knowledge about
HIV/AIDS especially its causes, symptoms, treatment is important, My editor Oby Uchime went
to the streets of Enugu Metropolis to find out what people know about how someone can get
HIV
(cues in, vox pop)
1) Madam” whala gaskia talahi ”, (its over) mosquito fit give person HIV, beacuse of what?
if una lie one place with somebody if mosquito bite somebody and i com bit you, you
don get am be that, tru tru beacuse i suck person blood before i com suck your own, i go
give you HIV, you no say winch plenty, i get winch wey go give u HIV kwa, i get winch
wey go just kill you straight
2) Men that do go after girls and leave them at last, the person like me I will have to pay you
back with your own coin, the person can do anything by infliciting you with HIV
spiritually, mosquito can also cause HIV since its a transferring of blood
3) HIV can be contracted through witch craft
4) I believe that someone can contract HIV through Witch craft I believe that such can be
manipulated
5) I believe one can conatct HIV through the sharing of sharp objects and by sex,
(cues out)
Narration continues...
ODIGWE: You just heard it there people’s voices and views on the causes of HIV and AIDS,
well for most respondents, witches and mosquitos can infect someone with the diesease,is it a
reality? Let’s find our from a medical expert how HIV can be transmitted my collegue Hilda
Offor interacts with a medical Doctor on these and many other issues relating to HIV
(cues in, Chat)
OFFOR: Dr, Okafor Christopher of state AIDS programme coordinator ,state ministry of
health,Enugu state, you are welcome to health periscope

2. OKAFOR: Thank you
OFFOR: Dr you have just listened to opinions of some people on thier beliefs that mosquito and
witch craft can tranmit HIV, how true is this?
OKAFOR: (laughs) ‘am laughing beacuse thats’ a common belief but I want my people to know
that’s not true that you cannot contract HIV through mosquito bites and you cannot contract it
through witch craft, it’s not true, we all know the mode of transmission of HIV/AIDS
OFFOR: we all don’t , do you mind mentioning the modes of transmission?
OKAFOR: Yes,one of them which is the most common one is sexual contact with an infected
person, sharing of sharp objects with an infected person, mother to child transmission is another
mode, blood transfusion, these are the areas in which one can contract HIV
OFFOR: Can a healthy looking person be HIV positive?
OKAFOR: Oh yes, a healthy person can contract HIV/AIDS provided he/she indulges in one of
all these mode of transmission I just mentioned
ODIGWE: since a healthy looking person can be HIV positive, can you please tell us how
HIV/AIDS can now be prevented?
OKAFOR: Most importantly our people need to encouraged to know thier status, they should be
encouraged to go for HIV counselling and testing, beacuse from there , they can know thier
status and if they know thier status they can live a positive life, when they begin to live a
positive life they will no further transmission of new infection.
OFFOR: Having said this then how can it be managed?
OKAFOR: Indeed, whenever someone tests positive the person is being refeered to a facility or a
center where HIV can be managed, there’s what we call eligibility criteria in which one can use
to know weather that person is eligible for the use of anti retroviral theraphy, if the person is not
eligible for anti retroviral therapy we will do pre art managment, pre art managment is a kind of
follow up, you follow that person up, the person will be coming from time to time ro check if its
CD4 count is less than 350 cells per milimeter cube then you know you have to place that peson
on antiretroviral drug but if its above, you will manage taht person conservatively, that’s the
managment.
OFFOR: How can one get these drugs that you talked about?
OKAFOR: Oh, its free, its free everywhere, its been distributed by federal governement to state
facilities every where.

3. OFFOR: Does it get to the rural areas too?
OKAFOR: Exactly, in enugu, let’s use Enugu state as an instance where I work, all the facilities
in the rural areas they have these drugs, all the PHCs they have these drugs , they were being
trained on how to administer these drugs as well.
(cues out)
Narration continues:
ODIGWE: And that was Dr chris okafor from the Enugu state Ministry of health in a chat with
Hilda Offor on the causes and ways of tackling the disease, although every human being can get
HIV some groups of people are exposed more than the rest, studies mentioned that sex workers,
drivers of long distance journeys , tourists are those highly exposed. What about the tennage
hawker on the street? Well regardless of whichever background one may come from, experts say
that everyone can be infected, testing is the only way to know one’s status but how many people
are ready to volunteer and know thier status through testing. Whichever attititude one may on
voluntary testing, experts maintains that voulntary counselling and testing is variable and this is
beacuse those who test negative need to live a life to maintain thier status, in any case an
individual who’s tested positive and now comes to live with HIV/AIDS has issues to contend
with, first , its his health and then the atitude from other people. What will it take to strike a
balance? A widow Madam Lilian Agbo a widow recounts her experiences as a woman living
with HIV/AIDS
(cue in)
“ I married some years ago after my marriage, 2003 my husband died, he died out of HIV/AIDS
then I lost two kids to HIV/AIDS then after that it was as if am not going to survive and these
three deaths happened in 2003, the same year, in my husbands’s house it was like am going to
die the next year or after a month interval but today am living and waxing strong beacuse of the
stigma, how people stigmatized my husband most especially from his own family, the type of
stigma and discrimination he faced, that was what that even led him to his grave and not the
virus, after his death the stigma I my self faced in that thier family was a very big blow but thank
God today in my husband’s village I now speak on HIV/AIDS, so in my life today I still have
other children around me whom am taking care of, actually they are negative but they are aware
of my celly status even in my compound today the hopless place I am married to when they see
me they became astonished instead of seeing myself getting leaner as they thought beacuse they
said that the person who’s living with the virus when you see the person, the person will as lean
as anything, they see me getting good and healthy looking, they themselves , they are even
surprised “
(Cue out)

4. ODIGWE: What a pity, a little virus dividing the long time love and close relationships among
individuals, this is the highest level of stigmatization, where is the love in you when you
discriminate against someone living with HIV/AIDS, a musical artiste Onyeka Onwenu would
expect to see love among all....
(Cue in, SONG ; ONYEKA ONWENU, “ONE LOVE”)
Never to worry one love set you free , one love keep us togther
(plays for two mintues)
(Fades out)
(Cue out)
(Continue Narration)
ODIGWE: That was Onyeka Onwenu with that track one love keep us togther,and the
programme is health periscope on Radio Nigeria, if one love should keep us together as
Nigerians why should people discriminate and stigmataize people just because they are living
with HIV/AIDS. What are the implication of stigma and discrimination of people living with
HIV/AIDS these issues and much more are subject to discussion, let’s us now join Efiom
Archibong with two experts as they tackle the question of stigma and discrimination of people
living with HIV/AIDS
(cue in)
ARCHIBONG; I have here two experts in the persons of Mrs Francisca Nwokolo, the commuity
Mobilization officer of the Agency for the control of AIDS ENSACA ,Madam ,your welcome
NWOKOLO: Thank you
ARCHIBONG: Barrister Chinwunba Onah, is the Executive Director for the community center
for justice and health Initiative, Barrister, your welcome.
ONAH: Thank you very much,
ARCHIBONG: My name is Efiom Archibong, firstly what is stigma and discrimination Madam?
NWOKOLO: Stigma in this regard is when somebody’s personality is being reduced to minimal
or lower than other human persons beacuse of HIV status while discrimination on the other hand
is an action met to people living with HIV beacuse they are positive, it could be in form of
denial, it could be in form of treating one unjustly simply beacuse that person tested positive.
ARCHIBONG: Thank you very much Madam, Barr,Onah, I don’t know if you have a different
defintion to stigma and discrimination?

5. ONAH: There’s nothing fundamentally different coming from me, she has said it all and I agree
with her entirely
ARCHIBONG: Let’s look at the economic aspect of life,you know economically ,to the nation
and to the person himself, does stigma and discrimination have any impact,Barr, Onah?
ONAH: Yes it has, I will give an example of a case, this Lady tested Positive by accident or
whatever, went to access services in one particular hospital in the state and somebody who works
in that hospital saw that lady there, the lady came back homeand broadcast to everybody around
the vicinity incidentally this woman is a widow because of the exit of the husband she has about
two to three children to care for, the lady started selling pure water on the street and the little
buscuits and stuffs like that,she had a little baby with her, the moment that woman came back
from the hospital nd broadcast that this woman is positive, everybody who was buying ‘pure’
water ( sachet) from her deserted her, and of course from that moment on one was ready to touch
the baby, you see the economic impact on that lady in that community? There was no way she
could continue in that business because of loss of revenue to her, hunger sets in, this is about the
economic impact of it.
ARCHIBONG: Is there any legal instrument on ground? In this country or Enugu as a state to
address the issue of stigma and discrimination?
ONAH: Yes,this particular incident i reported to you came to our office beacuse we offer pro
bono services to them so when she came to our office we were very delited, we sent our lawyer
to stand in for her basing our claims on the provisions of anti stigma and discrimination law of
Enugu state 2005, these rights are there that you can not discriminate, anti stigma laws but
people are not accessing it without even talking about the anti stigma law you can also draw
from the constitutuion of the federal republic of Nigeria which is the master piece.
ARCHIBONG: Mrs Francisca Nwokolo, you are the community Mobilization officer of the
Agency for the control of AIDS ENSACA, I don’t what you do to sensitaize people in the rural
areas beacuse that’s where these things happens more often so they no not to discriminate nor
stigmatiaze people living with HIV/AIDS?
NWOKOLO: Thank you very much, we do a lot of things in this regard beacuse from time to
time we engage different groups in enugu state on sensitaization regarding anti discrimination
and protection law of people living with HIV , we sensitaize them by putting some strategies in
place using community memebers, by training some people in this communities across three
senatorial zones on a strategy called STATR, STATR is Society Taking Action Through Rights
ARCHIBONG: Is ther e any implication of this?

6. ONAH: Yes, under section 17 of the anti stigma law of Enugu state, if somebody is working
anywhere and he is stigmatized or sacked for the purposes of his status that section 17 averts that
person complete right.
ARCHIBONG: Know your HIV status its very very essential, stigma and discrimination we
know, kill, so please don’t stigmataize your brother, don’t discriminate against your brother,all
of them need love and care , thank you very much for listening , I have been talking with Mrs
Francisca Nwokolo, the community Mobilization officer of the Agency for the control of AIDS
(ENSACA) and Okafor Christopher, state AIDS programme coordinator ,state ministry of
health,Enugu state
(cue out)
(Continue Narration)
ODIGWE: That was Efiom Archibong and the team of experts on stigma and discrimination
against persons living with HIV/AIDS , oh well dear listener its on that note that we end this
week’s edition of Health periscope, the studio manager has been Okpoebi Orukari and my Editor
Oby Uchime, thanks for listening, bye
END