Posted by By Ihuoma Chiedozie on
Wife of the President, Hajiya Turai Yar'Adua, on Wednesday attributed human rights abuses to the higher rate of HIV/AIDS infection among Nigerian women and girls.
Wife of the President, Hajiya Turai Yar'Adua, on Wednesday attributed human rights abuses to the higher rate of HIV/AIDS infection among Nigerian women and girls.
Yar'Adua said this while inaugurating the National Coalition on HIV/AIDS in the State House. She also called for greater coordination between government agencies and non-governmental organisations in ongoing intervention campaigns in the country.
The coalition is expected to address the vulnerability of women and girls to the HIV virus.
Outlining reasons for the higher infection rate among women, she said, 'It is worthy to note that the prevalence of the pandemic can be ascribed to various human rights abuses that women and girls suffer because their rights have not been taken into consideration. The challenge of ensuring that women and girls are protected from human rights abuses is enormous.
'Abuses such as rape, domestic violence, together with economic and political marginalisation worsen women's independence. This has increased women's exposure to HIV/AIDS"
She also explained that the effect of the HIV/AIDS infection was more pronounced among the female gender.
In a bid to correct this trend, Yar'Adua said that governments at all levels must identify and address the causes of women's vulnerability to the infection.
'The appalling conditions that fuel HIV transmission among women has called for an urgent need for women leaders to take the leap by ensuring the emergence of a society free of HIV/AIDS which can be achieved if the causes of women's vulnerability are identified and addressed at all levels of government in the country".
However, she observed that there was no coordination between government and Non-Governmental Organisations in ongoing HIV/AIDS intervention efforts in the country.
She also called on the wives of State Governors to take the campaign to their states and the grassroots.