HIV Marriage: Bauchi State AIDS Agency Marries Off 152 HIV Positive Couples

The Bauchi State agency for the Control of AIDS has aided the joining in marriage of 152 couples living with HIV/AIDS from
2008 to date.
Usman Zico, Chairman of the state chapter of Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, said this on Wednesday in Bauchi.
He spoke at the inauguration of the second phase of the HIV/AIDS Programme Development Project (HPDP-2).
Mr. Zico said the government spent about N3.8 million in the project, paying between N20, 000 and N30, 000 as dowry for each couple who got married during the period.
He said that the effort was not in vain as the marriages had, according to him, “produced an impressive number of babies that tested negative to the HIV virus”.
Authority arranged marriages is a traditional social control method often used by governments in northern Nigeria.
The Kano state government, through its Islamic council, is also undertaking similar projects to rid the state of single parents.

-Premium Times