efforts are concentrated in the urban centres.
During our last exercise to follow up on clients, we met a young woman. We will call her Obioma.
Obioma was married about three years ago to a young man, a Business. After a year, Obioma gave
birth to a baby girl. Their joy however, was short-lived as their young daugther took ill and died before her first birthday.
During a routine investigation, Obioma's husband was tested and confirmed HIV-positive. Obioma was
also tested confirmed HIV-positive.
The husband then decided to send Obioma back to her parents. We tried to find out why, he told us that he cannot afford to treat himself and his wife on his meagre salary. Therefore, she must go back to her parents, because there is no future for them together.
Obioma, who is 28 years old, wishes to remarry if she finds a man who loves her. Her plans to go to
the School of Health Technology cannot be realised immediately, because she does not possess the required entry qualifications.
She now engages in petty trading in her small village. She started with a capital of N5000. When asked how much profit she has made from the business since she started, she said there is no profit, as she uses the money she makes for daily survival. She also said that whenever she falls sick, she uses the same money for treatment, which is not enough as she will have to travel out of her village to be able to obtain care.
How can we reduce the suffering of our women who have been reduced to mere property such that they can be easily discarded?
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