STIGMATIZATION AND THE PERSISTENCE OF HIV/AIDS IN ABAKALIKI, EBONYI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

HIV/AIDS remains a significant public health crisis in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria, despite decades of biomedical intervention. This study examines how social stigmatization functions as a structural determinant that sustains the epidemic by deterring testing, delaying care-seeking, and driving the disease underground within affected communities. Grounded in Erving Goffman's theory of stigma and Talcott Parsons' sick-role framework, the study adopts a mixed-methods research design, combining 412 structured questionnaire responses with 24 in-depth interviews and four focus group discussions conducted across urban and peri-urban communities in Abakaliki. Findings reveal that 78.4% of respondents associate HIV/AIDS with promiscuity and moral failure, while 64.2% report fear of community disclosure as the primary barrier to testing. Enacted stigma — experienced directly in healthcare settings, households, and workplaces — compounds anticipated stigma, creating cycles of silence that prolong untreated infection and increase transmission risk. Women, young people, and individuals from lower socioeconomic strata bear a disproportionate stigma burden. The study further demonstrates that faith-based institutions and community gatekeepers play an ambivalent role, simultaneously perpetuating moral condemnation and offering informal support networks. The article concludes that HIV/AIDS persistence in Abakaliki cannot be adequately addressed through biomedical strategies alone; rather, socially embedded, culturally responsive anti-stigma interventions are urgently needed. Recommendations include stigma-literacy programmes, peer-navigator models, and the integration of community voices into health policy design.