Abstract
An exploratory survey assessed Christian religious leaders' knowledge, state of preparedness, and current level of involvement in AIDS education in Ibadan, Nigeria, with a view to providing baseline information upon which AIDS education programs can be developed for churches. A total of 306 Christian leaders, who were selected from half (78) of the churches in Ibadan through multi-stage sampling, were interviewed. In addition, the church records kept by the Christian leaders were reviewed to document AIDS educational activities carried out by the churches. Results showed that almost all (97.7%) of the Christian leaders have heard about AIDS, with the mass media being the primary source of information (78.3%). Despite a high level of awareness, only 6 percent of the Christian leaders correctly identified HIV as the causative agent of AIDS. Knowledge regarding unprotected sexual intercourse with multiple partners as a way by which the virus is transmitted was high (88.3%). Only 37.8% of the leaders had ever carried out any AIDS educational activity in their respective churches, while the majority (62.2%) had not. The preaching of sermons (38.9%), presentation of seminar papers at workshops (21.2%), and counseling (15.8%) were the main educational programs carried out by the Christian leaders. Of those who have heard about AIDS but had not educated their congregation, a lack of basic knowledge on the disease was cited as the principal barrier (27%) to action. However, a majority (79.4%) are favorably disposed toward playing a pro-active role in AIDS educational programs in Nigeria. The implications of these findings for AIDS control efforts are discussed.
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