Aniefiok J. Moses

Public Health Department, Federal Ministry of Health, PO Box 2397, GARKI – 900 001, Abuja, Nigeria; e-mail: aniemos@yahoo.com, Phone: (234) 802 321 4998

Code Number: hs06014

The prevention and control of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has remained one of the most singular health intervention, which has posed serious challenge to pubic health since 1981, when its first case was diagnosed.The peculiar characteristics of the virus – HIV, that causes the disease, environmental factors and the attitude of people towards its prevention has made this challenge even more daunting.

While much has been done to create awareness, nothing is being done to address environmental factors like inadequate housing, high level of poverty and lack of economic empowerment, which contribute to the high prevalence of the disease in our society.

Our precarious environment: overcrowded slums, poverty, migration in search of jobs, conflict, which increase the problems of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) and Refugees, bad policy like relocating thousands of people from Lagos to the new Federal Capital, Abuja, without adequate provision for residential accommodation; forced people to live in crowded slum, which increases the possibility of risky sexual activities and drug use, leading to high HIV prevalence in our society, including Abuja. Health care waste is not separated from municipal solid waste in Abuja; hence health workers and scavengers at waste dumpsites face the risk of being infected through occupational exposure.

It is recommended that government and individuals should adopt and implement environmental health programmes to reduce the level of exposure to HIV/AIDS.

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