Olukemi Akinyemi, a counselling psychologist with speciality in the prevention of STD’s, HIV and AIDs  works at  the youth friendly centre of  the University of Ibadan. In this interview with Toyin Komolafe,  she speaks on various ways to avoid contracting HIV virus. Excerpts:

HIV and AIDs.
The full meaning of HIV is Human Immunodeficiency

Virus;  AIDS is Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
I have this illustration I do give to people because  I am a very practical person The H is Human telling us it stays in Human body, Immune and Deficient means it renders everything that is called the body immunity  deficient, The V refers to the  virus . Some of our youths will refer to it as a disease, HIV is not a disease, you cannot call it  a disease until it has successfully broken down everything you can refer to as the body immunity which could take years, it could be two, three, four or even ten years and that is why there is a need for the test. At least once every six months, to know what your status is.

But the two terms are often referred to as the same.

Yes, like I said, most people will say HIV is a disease, it is not a disease, it is a virus and the truth about the two is that if you have HIV and you are under therapy, it is possible for it not to get to the AIDS stage  because as the therapy boosts the immunity, it helps to  boost the body soldiers thus helping the person to remain healthy. It is when it gets to the AIDS stage that infection has free hand to attack the body. When people come for counselling, I try to explain to them, that people living with this virus are human beings like us,

Don’t you think there is not much awareness and the little there is scares people?
It is true. I discover that the perspective people have is different from what it actually is. The only difference it has from other diseases is that it does not have a permanent cure but there is a therapy that can keep the soul and the body of the person together for as long as God wants him or her to live, we need more awareness so  that many people can really get to know more about it. So many people have visited this centre and I discovered that  many of them do not really know what it actually is. Someone once said ‘‘I cannot sit with an HIV positive person’’ and I said no, it is not like that. We need to know where we can find this virus which is in the semen, breast milk, the cerum, the virginal fluid, etc. Any direct contact with all these things that  I have mentioned will mean contact with the virus and we should know that this will not even happen unless there is an opening through which virus can go into the body of an uninfected person.

Is there any age bracket which is more vulnerable?
This virus is no respecter of age or status, whether you are rich or poor, young or old. Women are more vulnerable because of their biological make -up which makes them  to be at the receiving end, but even then we have the younger generations. We should look at the modes of contact: direct sex, and when you look at the percentage of those who engage in careless sex, the higher percentage is the youth. Unsterilized sharp objects like razor blades, needles, clippers, even tooth brush and the higher percentage of those who use these are the youth. The ladies will  go to salon to fix their hairs without going with their personal needles, how are you sure that  an infected person would not have used the needle?  Young men  too will go to salon without  their personal clippers.

What of the cutting comb?
Only If there is an opening on an infected person and the cutting comb has contact with the serum and then if the cutting comb is used on another person who has an opening  because the virus will always look for an opening, it is not possible for the virus to just jump on you. It is either you have a wound or have contact with the fluid. You can sit with a person who is positive, you can hug and exchange clothes. Another mode of transmission is through mother to child, it can be transmitted to the baby in the womb, through delivery, breast feeding and that was why I mentioned earlier that it is not a respecter of any one. If a pregnant mother is detected earlier, her pregnancy will be monitored, it is not a crime for an infected person to be pregnant, with close monitoring they can carry the pregnancy to term without sickness and the virus not being transferred to the baby. Then finally through blood transfusion.

Having said all these, how can it be controlled?
If we look critically at the modes of transmission, we will start to work on the control from there. Abstinence is the best form of protection, if they cannot abstain, let them have one faithful partner, and even with this partner, they should still use a condom as this will protect them not only from HIV but Sexually Transmitted Diseases and unwanted pregnancy. I repeat again abstinence is still the best, youths should learn to control their orgy. Females should learn to dress decently in a way that won’t provoke the guys. Parents should also take it upon themselves to talk to their children both male and female. We should make sure we use sterilised sharp objects if we must; a female should take her kit to the salon. Seminars should also be organised for barbers on how to sterilise their instruments and we should move out to public places and religious houses to sensitize them. Whether we like it or not, HIV has come to stay and with such awareness, we won’t call on a Hausa man to cut our nails for us. Mothers should also take it upon themselves to be tested regularly so they won’t have infected babies.

What role has government got to play in all these?
If we look at it critically, poverty has a lot to play in this; we have a lot of young girls who pay their school fess, fend for themselves and even send money home to their younger ones. As much as these girls want to stop, they are faced with the problem of survival. There should be job provision for young graduating students and there should be enough awareness for both parents and children.

Coming back to you, why have you taken special interest in the youth?
The youth are our today, tomorrow and future and we need healthy youths to achieve the change we want in Nigeria. I have discovered that so many youths are faced with these problems because there is no love. At this point, I will like to chip in this to our parents; they should give their children love and attention. Let us be realistic and stop all these religious pretence. As parents, our religion starts from the home; we can only do better when our home is well taken care of.

What is your last word for the youth?
I will urge the youth to be focused, our girls should be assertive, let them pursue their goals without any distraction. Youths should be contented, you cannot have it all. You can only have all the comfort when you work hard and get up there.