Dr Nwaejiaja lashes out on medical doctors and other Health workers for their roles in transmitting the HIV/AIDS and called for a law for women to say no to sex and separation of husbands and wives by long distances. Excerpts:
Do you think these women societies have tried in awareness of HIV/AIDS among women?
Apart from self defense by way of struggle for gender equality, National Association of Women Journalist, NAWOJ; National Council for Women Societies, Woman Aids Collective, WACO, Woman In Nigeria, WIN and all other women groups are supposed to have addressed the issue of conducts of women in all sincerity and effectiveness.
Why is it that at the wake of HIV and AIDS the number of prostitutes have increased alarmingly, all over Africa ? Mortality, loyalty, dignity and respect that used to knit marriages together are swept under the carpet, and the women are let loose-and they roam the street uncontrollable, as if in the rampage-with their dignity away.
Virtually every married woman has at least 2 boy friends (and a better-lover is always found outside the home) and then to the free unmarried ones, extramarital sex is a free gift of nature. And WIN says she is winning. Let WIN put her house in order by informing the uniformed in their mix by circular, print and wireless media, communiqué and informative books-to sanitize its members, and to restore woman dignity and save lives.
It is more profitable to look forward in this direction than to look forward to a time when a woman will be a trailer or tanker driver. After all, God has reasons for gender differences and woman physical weakness as well as her essential and invaluable roles which no man can challenge. What is WIN winning when her members are dying of preventable diseasees and like flies. Women should be sympathetic. As they refuse to be woman, who will be woman? There is a vacuum!
What of the roles of doctors, nurses and health workers in transmitting this deadly disease?
It is good we accept the fact that whenever we point an accusing finger on the accused, three fingers point at us. Doctors usually refer to “them” in the issue of HIV, yet they are the first port of call and the most vulnerable when HIV infection is sincerely assessed. Doctors are also the ones that will educate the uniformed about mode of infection, and control of HIV. They are captains in the wars against HIV. In spite of these, how many doctors excuse themselves to visit their injection rooms, dressing rooms etc. to control the mix-up going on there, which are detrimental to HIV control?
The mind of a good, governing doctor should be everywhere. He should be both preventive and curative, otherwise he is not qualified. He is a quack, in spite of his degree. Why are Nigerian Medical Association, NMA; Nigerian Dental Association; Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN and Nursing Council of Nigeria, NCN asleep and World Health Organization, WHO slow in maters of HIV?
They who are supposed to strategize and monitor the effectiveness of their HIV control strategies. Most radio campaigns are negative. They indirectly preach spread of HIV they are supposed to curtail. Some teach and promote sex, romance and love making, which in this case, is like using fuel to put off fire. How can a sincere doctor, with knowledge of public health reconcile with a radio campaign which advised a partner to sleep with his, HIV infected partner and even have children with her, and that their would be no HIV infection?
Yet the NMA – no comment, WHO – no comment, all in the bid to remove stigma. Is stigma more important than death through HIV infection? And HIV is a very infectious condition, which its mode of spread is even not yet fully known. Every one would expect NMA to intervene and counter such campaign. The NMA should monitor and review or even approve any HIV campaign slogan. In addition, every one would expect NMA, MDCN to set up inspection team to visit every health institution to see how patients are handled and ascertain the safety of patient and even the health workers themselves –just as sanitary inspectors of old. In east Africa and even in Nigeria many doctors and many health workers have died of HIV they contracted in their clinics and thousands of unsuspecting patients are infected during hospital treatments yearly.
Blood-blood-blood. How is maternity, how is blood bank and blood transfusion, how is surgery, casualty and theater, dental clinic and labour room, how is abortion clinic, dressing room and injection room? The medical laboratory that tests for HIV can also transmit HIV! Poorly supervised nurses can inoculate themselves at work. (The NCN is in charge-love your neighbour as yourself but not more than yourself). How safe is the patient, how safe is the doctor? (With what does he go home to his unsuspecting wife and family)? How safe are health workers generally?
The HIV is wetting on the wings! Are instruments boiled or just simple washed? Are needles actually disposed or criminally reused? Who is inspecting? Who is fooling who? Yet HIV is in vicious circle and thus medical practice is gradually changing from noble profession to dangerous profession. The NMA is a wealthy association, it can sponsor, monitor and approve campaigns, and it can also sought government assistance through MDCN. Then who is fooling who? We cannot blame WHO all that because it is not easy to monitor an entire world or even to monitor a country properly from afar. But every African country has a medical association which is at door step with it. Doctors are matured enough to suspend self-defense. Not all behind the curtains are angels.
If any one member errs in practice let him be monitored, and marked out, and be disciplined accordingly. What is abortion, what is more deadly than it if not for patients’ ignorance and our greed-in spite of ourselves? Why should a new born be sold by he who delivered it and he who is suppose to protect it. Police control police, army control soldiers and teachers control teachers. Who controls doctors and lawyers in peripheral practices? God of gods and Lord of lords. One of the easiest ways to control HIV is by indirect approach-just like in many such vital issues.
Abortion indirectly promotes sex and sex promotes spread of HIV and HIV promotes death. If the law against abortion is upheld and enforced, (at least for the sake of HIV) such law is indirectly in favour of HIV control. All efforts seem to have been made, yet no effort is made. The scenario is disheartening-there is weakness in every front. We should temper justice with mercy by reducing our bills, whenever possible, (in spite of patients’ envy, arrogance and ingratitude), so as to prevent them from going to the quacks to get infected with HIV.
In spite of headiness and pride, new breed doctors should, despite the un-fatherly attitude of some older doctors, liaise with older doctors of repute for acquisition of competence and expertise. Such will also give new doctors some immunity, emotional and physical supports, and remove panics which stem from incompetence and first-experience during surgical operation and save such doctors from wounding and infecting himself or his patient with HIV due to nervousness and guilt. Besides it is a “Sin” to learn from mistakes in human beings.
Can a woman say no to her husbands advances from what you are saying?
Porous marriage, made of porous women, it seems the most risky thing one can undertake now. Some men are skeptical while others are scared. I feel for women, because in marriage, they often have no option. It is their duty to succumb to their husband. It is they, also, that men deceive at will. When I think of women in their homes with their husband who may be a very wealthy unapproachable “Womanizer” or a very top politician, I feel pity, knowingly or unknowingly to him, after his all-year-long travels to God-knows-where, whether he is HIV positive or not, his wife must submit and succumb.
When he returns, his helpless wife feels like a person served with death sentence. And she must yield to sex by intimidation or even rape. Who will help such a woman? Is it not good for female legislators and WIN and NAWOJ to plead to government all over the world to save and liberate women by enacting a law which permits a woman to refuse her husband when she feels HIV-unsafe with him sexually? The woman lies down, but instead of smiling she is sweating. It is easier to rape a woman than to rape a man.
Where do you blame the churches and Religious groups?
Religious bodies no more preach sincerely which includes fidelity in marriage, which excludes extramarital, sexual relation. In so doing, the workers in the vineyard are either protecting their interest or disenchanted.
Bishops are as frustrated or even more frustrated of the workers in the vineyard than the Vice chancellors are of the supposed academic models in universities in issues of conduct. In such situation of moral anarchy, is it not good at the end of every religious gathering to use a slogan like “prostitution is not a way of God, prostitution can cause you HIV/AIDS and death” by way of brain washing the flocks. In issues of bad conducts, the clergy should be more secretive. If the sin cannot be avoided, let them be more secretive so as to be worthy of emulation by the youths and the laity.
How do you react to issues of Human Trafficking?
If it is true that people take a human being and sells her out for money, such situation proves that the pangs of slavery which African seems to have been suffering from are mere crocodile tears.
Such pretence is in both the giver and the taker because Italy will detect when bomb trespasses her border but can not discover when, often, more than a dozen of conspicuous, underage human-of suspicious appearance and age cross her border. Africa gives tough and cheap labourers as well as sweet and cheap prostitutes. And the world government folds its arms. And in this age of jet and HIV when goodness and badness meet, who then is fooling who? Jaw-jaw-jaw. Who cares for HIV spread through human trafficking? No punishment for a human selling a human. In this age of “civilization and human rights”. Is it also a political issue? Is it an issue of debate? Yet life is all about punishments and rewards.
How does the various wars and refugees situation across Africa and the world promote HIV/AIDS?
War, war, war-who gives them bullet, who sells guns to them? If you want the cause of murder, you have to go to the blacksmith. If the World, sincerely wants to stop wars, it is simple-ban the sale of guns and bullets, export and import-period. I have a dispute with my neighbour, you call us from behind and sale machetes to us, and then again you come to the war front and say “stop fighting, you are killing yourselves”. Is it sincerity?
With its sophistication now, what war is difficult for the World to stop if not pretence and treachery? Where were they before the poll of blood or do they drink blood? Bloody crude oil and minerals. Africa is a testing ground for religion as well as armament of war and disease. As a result there are refugees everywhere.
What is china doing in Sudan/Darfur? Pull on the right, while I pull on the left, so as to unite them. Neocolonialism? Yet refugee camp is like a cooking pot of HIV-because people are under stress and they sell sex to make ends meet. And HIV is a vicious circle and cyclical, from a point it spreads out to the virgin lands and back again. Lack of effective education or its total lack is also major cause of wars. If in doubt, compare Liberia zone, East or Central Africa with Nigeria . Nigeria is united in spite of its many tribes and differences due mainly to education, unlike in these areas where war and rebellion are a way of life. In all sincerity instead of selling guns to them, build universities for them.
How does virtue tried in all these?
Virtue is not only good, it saves your life also, in Treasure Island (a book), Tom’s mother, on opening the dead captain’s box confides in his son “I am a honest woman I will have what is owed me, and not a penny more…”.
And that she did, honestly, leaving great amount of money behind, even though the captain was dead. In the book, African Child, Camara Laye’s mother, in helping a man with a fallen horse, shouted to the horse proudly. “If it be true that from the day of my birth I have knowledge of no man except the day of my marriage and if it be true that from the day of my marriage I have had knowledge of no man other than my lawful husband-if these things be true then I command you, rise up!”
The horse got up at once and followed her master. The above virtues and attributed are ridiculed today and that is why human control is laughable and HIV control a huge joke. Virtue and probity distinguish man from animal. In spite of HIV pandemic man has more sex partners than animal-a frightening reverse, in spite of the dirtiness of the act. What God is asking through HIV is, “where is your virtue”?
What roles do families and Parents need play in this circumstance?
Mother’s dream is often for the daughter to get out of the family by all means. Yet apart from the risk sex is not a good way of attracting a husband, especially in this time of HIV. After all a man who discovers that a matured girl has never had any affairs with a man will, in most cases, do anything possible to marry her, for such is a symbol of good conduct. Spoilt child is aftermath of bad parents, bad schools, bad church and bad society devoid of good qualities worthy of emulation. In comparism, children of illiterates of the past are far better than children of the so called educated parents in issues of conducts. Civilization has its negativity-abortion, stealing, lies, murder, infidelity, disrespect, disregard, HIV, and so on. When mother moves like snake in prostitution, daughters move zig-zag.
Fathers are frustrated to a halt. Who is fooling who? Apart from HIV awareness, parents should conduct family meeting to educate their children on issues of life (meaning of love, fake love, HIV, essence of life, virtue and worthiness), because no one knows what he does not know. No youth has been youth before. You can blame a person over what he knows, but not what he does not know abinitio.
How would people in prisons and detentions be regarded before integration?
People in detention-in police cells, army cells and prisons-should be clearly separated to avoid homosexual and casual sex both of which can lead to HIV transmission. Because when they come out from such places, such people-whether HIV positive or negative will still mix with the unsuspecting society. Such people are supposed to know their HIV status before they released back into the society.
What of our schools and Universities?
Most departments in higher institutions are privatized to the Head of departments, HOD and are made family money making ventures. And the supposed economically unproductive students are just like obliged “tax payers” to the shylock HOD’s who paid nothing in their time. A student is a stock in trade to most lecturers or most opportune workers.
Students pay for her daily needs, food, transport, laboratory, school fees, accommodation, hand outs, sorting, books, supervisors, registration, files, marks, water, soap, garri and so on. What is the source of money for some of the less privileged girls? Sex. And invariably the result is in some cases HIV. Indirectly who is the cause of the HIV spread? Primitive bodies in modern clothings. The students are like sheep without shepherd.
The role of ministry of education is not only approval of new universities and welfare of workers; it also includes student’s welfare and quality of education and in all sincerity. If education is not free, it should be as cheap as N10, 000 a section at tertiary level. Lecturers should be under strict supervision of ministry of education so as to improve student’s conditions. It is good to transfer lecturers like police if need be.
The role of the youths, Community Leaders and Town Chiefs?
Apart from HIV, sex is not all there is in life. Sex has value only in memory and memory is like dream-intangible. Apart from the risks involved, living as married couples in our schools is not cultural to any people and it dampens life zeal and enthusiasm due to lost of time and dampening effects of women. Youthful age which lasts only 11 years should be seen by youths as a period of apprenticeship as well as a time for achievement and a time to prepare to pay parents back by care in their time of weakness. Youth is period of energy which should be geared towards achievements and an achievement is a goal one has reached, which he can proudly declare publicly.
Hence they exclude unwanted pregnancy one is involved in, murder one has committed, number of girls one has deceived and such criminal acts, but include school excellence and such illustrious acts. At youthful age humans, and even animals seem uncontrollable, yet death ultimately controls the uncontrollable. Hence a youth is even more vulnerable to death than the old.
Death by disease, HIV, by accident, by suicide, in war and rivalry, and so many other ways. It is therefore the duty of parents, church, mosque, and government to control youths. To succeed in this (as youths are often ‘have nots’) the government, family, the church and mosque should try to provide the needs of their youths and reduce their costs of living. Boyfriend and girlfriend should be seen as practice of falsehood. If it is not, why do people have unwanted pregnancies in the act? For instance if one’s sister were his girlfriend will their be issue of unwanted pregnancy? No. because, true affection will be involved.
On our community leaders, every serious town chief knows that his house is on fire. The HIV is not Armageddon but something more diverse and worst than it. A situation where every corner of a community is burial and funeral ceremony does not give a concerned town Chief a cheerful look. What is to be done?
A town Chief or community leader will make a law that prevents prostitutes from staying all-nights long in small hotels in their communities. Such canteens should be given closing time. Such town leader can also through a town crier or public address system make HIV awareness campaign in markets and villages using their local dialects. Being a grass-root monitor, he has better access to his people’s way of life and how to control it so as to affect HIV control effectively. The WHO and HIV control organizations can also sponsor the town leaders’ HIV control campaigns-as more effective means.
These leaders at grass-root should quicken dispensation of justice in cases evolving widows and divorcees so as to enable them go by free will devoid of compulsion and intimidation. Such will help widows and divorcees have better self control by being owners of themselves in issues of HIV infection.
Again there is reckless, indiscriminate movement across international borders. And as people move, they move with diseases. There should be restriction of irrelevant movement by restriction of porous borders-in spite of international, commercial interest, tourism and air line operators. Bird flu in India today, bird flu in Nigeria tomorrow-diseases go with people. People crossing borders should go with HIV certificates. If one is positive he should be restricted to his or her home country, unless the journey is on treatment reasons. This will reduce further spread of less endemic lands. God has reason for homogeneity. He is concerned about world peace and not necessarily heterogeneity.
The Governments role in separation of married couples?
Apart from meeting, the needs of youth and sanitization of school system and the society, government should enact laws against anything that could lead to wide separation of husbands and wives by non-governmental or governmental organizations. If a husband works at Sokoto and the wife works at Lagos , a gap of up to 1000 kilometers and they are thus widely separated, there are obvious tendencies that either or both partners will chose another partner or partners to meet their sexual needs, HIV/AIDS not withstanding.
From the Archive...first published in 2012
HIV CONTROL: Who is fooling who?----DR NWAEJIAGA
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Tuesday, November 24, 2015
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Tuesday, November 24, 2015
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