ABSTRACT
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and its causative agent, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), pose serious public health problems in Nigeria. AIDS has been primarily an urban phenomenon in Nigeria to date, its spread to rural areas is highly likely. This chapter addresses the gap in knowledge about rural sexual patterns through an explorative, in-depth study of potential HIV transmission behaviors and their cultural context in a rural Yoruba community in northern Oyo State. The relative informality of divorce in society is certainly another potential facilitating factor for HIV transmission within the community. Generally in Nigeria, commercial sex workers (CSW) have the highest reported prevalence rates of HIV, and in addition are responsible for the transmission of other sexually transmitted diseases (STD) that facilitate HIV transmission. Informal interviews were used to obtain CSWs’ history of prostitution and any measures they may have taken to prevent STDs.
