How Illicit Drugs Aid HIV/Aids Spread

[Richard Akindele]

A non governmental Organisation(NGO), known as Center For Research and Infor-mation on Drugs and Substance Abuse (CRISA) has said in Abuja, that there is a direct link between frequent alcohol intake, use of hard drugs and spread of HIV/AIDS across the country.

Dr. Andrew Zamani, CRISA chief executive who made this known during the group's 7th Biennial Conference on Drugs and Society, said risky and unprotected sexual behaviour are highest among population of Nigerians who drink engage in drug abuse than those who don't.

He said recent studies have shown that much of the HIV/AIDS sero-prevalence in some parts of the country have been as a result of influence of high alcoholic intake among people socialising or engaging in one form of socio-economic activity or another.

He said risky behaviours found among sex workers, road transport workers etcetera are often propelled by influence of alcohol, saying that lawmakers in the country should as a matter of urgency promulgate a law to restrict the display and sale of alcohol and other hard drugs.

"We need to take the drug problem in our country seriously. If you go to some motor parks for instance, you find all kinds of drugs and alcohol on display very early in the morning.We need practical ways of addressing alcoholism with the instrumentality of the law. If frequency of intoxication or drunkenness in an individual is very high, then the number of occasions he demonstrates irresponsible sexual behaviour is equally high", he said.

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