A rapid situation assessment of sexual risk behaviour of alcohol users in Lagos, Nigeria

National sentinel surveys of HIV/AIDS among pregnant women in Nigeria have shown steady rise in prevalence from 1991 (1.8%) to 2001 (5.8%), which may reflect the pattern in the adult population in the country. The roles of known potential risk factors of the HIV/AIDS scourge in Nigeria deserve elucidation. This work aims to study the relationship between alcohol use and sexual risk behaviour.

Rapid assessment technique involving qualitative and quantitative methods was employed. A multi-site design which made it possible to compare samples recruited in high and low density settings was used.

One hundred and nine of the alcohol users were recruited in the Low Density Area (LDA), while 130 were recruited in the High Density Area (HDA). In the HDA, 49 (53%) of the beer users used alcohol before sex either most or all of the time 21 (22.6%), or occasionally 28 (29.1%). Unlike the beer users less than half, 8 (42.1%), of Palm wine drinkers drank alcohol before sex. Beer users in the HDA used beer after sex with casual partners significantly more than the Palm wine drinkers (P = 0.036). Alcohol users in the LDA were more inclined to casual sex and they (54, 56.8%) believed that it had some or major role in their desire as well as performance of sex compared with users in the HDA (P = 0.005).

Irrespective of their socioeconomic class, ethnicity, religion and educational attainment alcohol users in the country indulge in high risk sexual behaviours that predispose them to infection with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.