Discrimination on the basis of HIV status
| Author | Cheluchi Onyemelukwe |
| Published date | 01 September 2017 |
| Date | 01 September 2017 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1358229117727415 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Discrimination on the
basis of HIV status:
An analysis of recent
developments in
Nigerian law and
jurisprudence
Cheluchi Onyemelukwe
Abstract
HIV/AIDS remains a significant public health challenge in Nigeria, with over three million
persons living with the condition. Throughout the history of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria,
persons living with the condition have faced stigma and discrimination in various areas
including access to health services, access to education, access to employment, among
others. In the past, because of lacunae in Nigerian law and jurisprudence, it has been the
subject of debate whether Nigerians living with HIV/AIDS are adequately protected by
law. Recent developments in legislation such as the federal HIV/AIDS Anti-
Discrimination Act, 2014 and judicial decisions in 2012 and 2016 on discrimination on
the basis of HIV status suggest a positive shift of the law to full protection of the rights of
persons living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, particularly in the area of employment. This
article provides an analysis of these recent developments in the law and argues that the
time has come to amend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to include
health status as a ground upon which one cannot be unduly discriminated against.
Keywords
Discrimination, HIV, AIDS, Nigeria, Constitution, stigma, HIV status, legislation, case law,
health status
Health Ethics and Law Consulting, Lagos, Nigeria
Corresponding author:
Cheluchi Onyemelukwe, Health Ethics and Law Consulting, Lagos, Nigeria.
Email: cheluchi7@yahoo.com
International Journalof
Discrimination and theLaw
2017, Vol. 17(3) 160–179
ªThe Author(s) 2017
Reprints and permission:
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1358229117727415
journals.sagepub.com/home/jdi
Introduction
HIV/AIDS is a significant public health challenge in Nigeria. The country has about 3.5
million persons of its 180 million population living with the disease,
1
representing 9%of
the global burden of the disease. Nigeria is thus the country with the second highest rates
of prevalence in the world behind South Africa.
2
All efforts to manage the disease,
increase prevention and control new infections are therefore crucial.
Aside from being a public health challenge, HIV/AIDS also presents a major human
rights challenge. Although much improvement has been made with respect to improving
the conditions of persons living with HIV in Nigeria, much more work remains to be
done in the area of stigma reduction and freedom from discrimination. As this article
discusses, in the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, stigmatization and discrimina-
tion were rampant and permeated all levels of Nigerian society. Over two decades into
the epidemic, much more knowledge about the disease is available, antiretroviral drugs
which ensure that the disease can be managed are also available, yet stigma and dis-
crimination remain. The National Health and Demographic Survey (2013) notes that the
persistence of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination is one of the factors that
hamper the efforts to prevent further spread of the disease in the country.
3
In 2014, after many years of delay, the former President Goodluck Jonathan signed
into the law, the HIV and AIDS (Anti-Discrimination) Act, 2014.
4
Prior to this, several
States had passed laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of HIV, including Lagos
State, Edo and Enugu States. Other States are following suit.
5
While the legislatures have
been busy, the courts have also been active during this period, making several rulings on
discrimination on the basis of HIV status.
This article examines the recent developments in the law – legislative and judicial –
which have changed and continue to alter the legal landscape of HIV-related discrim-
ination. It explores the potential impact of these developments on the stigmatization of
persons living with HIV status. The significant number of persons living with HIV in
Nigeria and the continuing levels of stigma and discrimination make this a critical and
relevant issue. From a broader perspective, this article also seeks to contribute to wider
disability literature and argues that even though there is improvement in the legal land-
scape, there is a need to develop a constitutional right to freedom from discrimination on
the basis of health status.
Stigma and discrimination on the basis of HIV status in Nigeria
Stigma isolates persons perceived not to belong within a wider social group. In the HIV
and AIDS context, it often reflects the prejudice, ‘tension, conflict, silence, subterfuge
and hypocrisy’.
6
It is an attitude of ‘us’ versus ‘them’, which makes an ‘other’ out of the
other person. It creates shame and blame for people living with HIV and AIDS
(PLWHA) and allows society not only to live in denial about the disease but also to
avoid caring for PLWHA. Stigmatization on the basis of HIV status further deepens
existing social inequalities (such as gender and income inequalities), since it builds on
existing prejudices.
Onyemelukwe 161
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