CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Human Imuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) is a viral infection that has the effects of destroying the body’s immune system, a situation called “Acquired Immuno-deficiency Syndrome” (AIDS). AIDS is a fatal disease in which the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) gradually destroys the ability of the immune system to fight off a wide range of infectious agents (National Action Committee on AIDS-NACA, 2007). Researches on AIDS had shown that HIV is transmitted through blood contact, sexual intercourse with an infected person, sharing of sharp body piercing objects, homosexual contacts and mother to child transmission during pregnancy, labour and breast feeding (NACA, 2007). The mode of transmission of HIV makes it very vulnerable to be transmitted from one person to another (NACA, 2007). Since the first case of HIV was reported in 1981, millions of people had died globally from the infection. For instance, in 2008 the estimated number of people living with HIV in Nigeria was projected at 2.95 million while the cumulative AIDS death was estimated at 280,000 people annually, (National HIV Sero-prevalence Sentinel Survey: Preliminary findings, 2008)The pandemic of HIV and AIDS has spread to all regions of the globe and infected over forty million people worldwide that are currently living with this fatal disease (UNAIDS, 2002).