The Bonny Women Association (BOWA) has raised the alarm that the imminent human influx resulting from the Nigeria LNG Train 7 project and the completion of the Bonny/Bodo Road project would worsen the prevalence of the Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV) and the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Bonny Kingdom.

It said this was the reason why it partnered the Ibanise HIV/AIDS Initiative to host a One-Day Sensitization Program on Thursday, October 15, 2020 to increase awareness on the worrying prevalence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the area.

Woman Leader of Bonny Kingdom, Helen Jack-Wilson Pepple, who came up with this position during the HIV/AIDS Sensitization Workshop at Women’s Hall, Bonny, stated that the women of Bonny Kingdom do not need to sell their bodies to get a job during the peak of the NLNG Train 7 project, stressing that such act may be a highway to contracting HIV/AIDS.

“Our people really need to know that they don’t need to sell their bodies in the world of work. Today some girls are forced to sell their bodies to get a job. So, do you know if the man you are loosely giving your body to is infected with AIDS?”

“I think there used to be a place where they call Mongolo where workers go to obtain sex for a fee, we won’t entertain that this time around.”

“But the reality is when workers flood the town, one will be unable to tell who has AIDS or not because it is not written on the face to know who is infected or not. So, our women must know the dos and don’ts so that they can live a healthy live and for those who have it, it’s not a death sentence, they can still live a better life.”

Helen Jack-Wilson Pepple, who is also the Secretary of Bonny Kingdom Local Content Compliance Committee (BKLCCC), the body responsible for ensuring what is due Bonny indigenes in the world of work gets to them, added that, “What they need to know is what we have educated them on that there are drugs that will probably suppress the virus and they will live a normal life.”

When asked about the chances of pregnant women with HIV/AIDS, she clarified that “For a pregnant woman who is infected with the virus, whether it is true that the baby will have it or the baby will not have it were part of things that were taught today.”

“So, it is my prayer that the women who have come from various Chieftaincy Houses to represent their houses, will go back and translate all they have heard to other people within Bonny Community and we have a better society, a healthy society in the mighty name of Jesus.”

Describing the core values of the Ibanise HIV/AIDS Initiative, Acting Project Manager of the NGO, Justicia Green explained that her organisation prides itself in people-oriented ventures that will bring about the actualization of dreams in a healthy environment.

While highlighting the risks and limitations attached with HIV/AIDS, she reaffirmed that the sensitization was about campaigning against the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Bonny Kingdom.

She raised the alarm that statistics from a recently conducted survey available to the NGO reveal that women within aged between 30 to 45 years in Bonny were more affected of HIV/AIDS than their male counterparts, a situation, she said called for concern.

She said the survey further revealed that young girls within the range of 12 to 30 years were generally found to be with higher rate of HIV/AIDS infection which justified the need for the partnership with the Bonny Women Association (BOWA) for the sensitization.

“So, we deemed it necessary to sensitize women in the various houses, to let them know the issues surrounding HIV/AIDS, what they need to do, especially, in a changing environment with the industrialization coming up, what they need to do so they don’t put their lives at risk, that was why we organized this program.”

“We believe that with this sensitization, we will build their knowledge, it will build their skills to exhibit so that they will not put themselves at risk. So, that is why we are here.”

“Lack of knowledge is one of the things that can impede effective growth because most people don’t have the knowledge about what to do. They have heard about the circumstances surrounding HIV/AIDS, the prevention, care and support but most people still don’t know, that is why we are here.”

The sero-prevalence rate of the virus in Bonny Kingdom has continued to spike right from the inception of the Ibani-Se HIV/AIDS Initiative’s Baseline Survey in 2006 to the implementation of a three-year (2008-2011) intervention programme and has continued to bedevil Bonny Kingdom which has in turn been confronting it with kid gloves.

The growing spread of HIV/AIDS among the people of Bonny Kingdom, especially, women, and the ratio of awareness to this extent appear to be the catalyst for the sensitization by the Bonny Women Association (BWA) alongside the Ibanise HIV/AIDS Initiative.

Despites this feat, if the healthcare providers do not measure up to this potential danger by responding to the dire situation of infection control, management and professional counselling, the Kingdom of Bonny, which is currently the second HIV/AIDS most prevalent LGA in Rivers State according to the Rivers State Action Committee for AIDS (RIVSACA), might be submerged in the virus thereby robbing it of its flourish.

The event which was attended by women from the respective Chieftaincy Houses in Bonny,  featured, lectures, symposia, and interactive session, amongst other presentations.