A Note on Suspect Practices During the AIDS Epidemic: Vaginal Drying and Scarification in Southwest Nigeria

Vaginal drying and scarification have been reported as possible risk factors. Published research on the former has been confined to East and Middle Africa. This paper reports on research in West Africa employing a survey of 1,976 females in southwest Nigeria, where they reported on their own vaginal drying, the scarification of their sons, and their participation in blood oaths. It was concluded that vaginal drying is not a risk-factor for AIDS in southwest Nigeria, and probably more broadly in West Africa, that scarification may be in the few cases when group scarification is practised, and that the practice of blood oaths probably puts those involved in danger. The severity of the sub-Saharan Africa AIDS epidemic has led to a search in the region for cultural practices that might facilitate the transmission of HIV either through rendering the vaginal wall thinner or damaged or by breaking the body's skin in such a way as to make the exchange of blood more likely. Research on vaginal drying has mostly been reported for East, Southern and Middle Africa, while there has been only limited reporting of scarification and similar practices. This note adds to the information available by reporting on Southwest Nigeria.