[afro-nets] Sexual behaviour among the Nigerian military

[A Odutola <chpss_abo@yahoo.com>]

Sexual behaviour among the Nigerian military
--------------------------------------------

Knowledge, attitudes, and sexual behaviour among the Nigerian
military concerning HIV/AIDS and STDs
http://www.policyproject.com/pubs/countryreports/Nig_AFPAC_KAB.pdf

This September 2002 report from the Armed Forces Programme on
AIDS Control (AFPAC) in Nigeria by the Policy Project presents
and discusses the findings from the "first behavioural survey
conducted in the Nigerian Armed Forces to elicit behavioural in-
formation that would contribute to a better understanding of the
dynamics and underlying factors of the spread of sexually trans-
mitted diseases (STDs) and HIV/AIDS in the Nigerian military".
The survey involving 1,600 respondents is acclaimed by the au-
thors as "nationally representative".

Key survey findings include:

1. Multiple partnering
----------------------

15 3% of respondents reported having at least two sexual partner
contacts in last 12 months). Of these partners, one-third was
non-regular sexual partners comprising casual acquaintances,
girl/boyfriends, and paid sex partnerships. Less than 5 percent
of the study population admitted having paid for sex, only
slightly more than half used a condom on that occasion.

2. Low knowledge and low risk perception of STDs/HIV/AIDS
---------------------------------------------------------

* While nearly 40 percent of respondents had good HIV/AIDS
transmission and prevention knowledge, one-quarter of those sur-
veyed had poor knowledge of HIV/AIDS.

* Respondents' perception of their risk of contracting HIV was
poor, as 41 percent felt they faced no risk of contracting HIV
and 22 percent felt they had only a small risk.

* Less than 50 percent of male respondents knew at least two ac-
curate male-specific symptoms of STDs and only 21.5 percent of
male respondents knew at least two female-specific symptoms of
STDs.

* Nearly 4 percent of those surveyed reported STD symptoms in
the previous 12 months, and 10 percent of those did not seek
modern health care treatment.

* Respondents' condom use does not vary with the level of per-
ceived risk.

3. High condom awareness with low regular use
---------------------------------------------

Majority of respondents were aware that condoms could be used as
protection against HIV/AIDS and other STDs, and 98% of respon-
dents knew where to acquire one. However, only half of the re-
spondents claimed to use a condom regularly with their non-
regular partners.

4. High out-of-station extra-marital contacts with low condom use
-----------------------------------------------------------------

* 17% of respondents did not cohabit with their partners because
they were either on peace-keeping missions or had to leave for
training sometimes for periods in excess of six months.

* Almost half of the respondents who participated in the various
peace-keeping operations admitted having sexual partners during
the period away. The longer the time spent away, the higher the
chances that they had sexual partners. With these sexual part-
ners, only half of the respondents protected themselves by using
a condom.

5. Few risk-reduction practices
-------------------------------

* Only half of the respondents claimed to use a condom regularly
with their non-regular partners

* 40 percent of the respondents had been tested for HIV, out of
which 35 percent voluntarily took the test.

* 89 percent will take the HIV screening test if it were to be
provided free of charge.

According to the authors, the survey "revealed that the Nigerian
military personnel indulge in high-risk sexual behaviours, which
puts them at high risk of contracting STDs, including HIV". The
findings further "highlight an urgent need for proper planning
and execution of targeted prevention strategies (in the Nigerian
military) in order to prevent undesirable consequences".

The authors recommended as a result of the survey that the Nige-
rian military formulate policies addressing whether or not con-
doms should be distributed freely and how regular the supply
should be.

[***Note: Nigeria's President Obasanjo directed sometime in 2003
that condoms be freely distributed to men and women of the armed
services within Nigeria's military formations. No follow-up in-
formation is available to-date on the sustainability of this
policy directive.]


A. Odutola
Centre for Health Policy & Strategic Studies (CHPSS)
Lagos, Nigeria
mailto:chpss_abo@yahoo.com

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