The Viability and Utility of Ecclesiastical Demands for HIV and Genotype Medical Tests Information before Church Mediated Marital Union in Nigeria

Abstract

Sickle cell disease is the commonest genetic disease in Nigeria; among Africans and the generality of the black race. Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of blood disorder typically inherited from a person’s parents. It results in an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying protein hemoglobin in the red blood cells. The issue of genotype incompatibility among prospective couples, and decisions on marriage in the face of this health condition, can have significant implication on the control of this disease in Nigeria and any other country. HIV epidemic in Nigeria has recorded high numbers in persons living with HIV and deaths related to AIDS.  Reports from UNAIDS show that an estimated 1.9 million persons are living with HIV in Nigeria; 1.4% of adults between ages 15 – 49 live with the virus. This statistics suggest that a lot of work is still needed to scale up HIV treatment and prevention services. The church, through religious doctrines and propagation of religious teachings, has a stronghold on the perception and acceptance of lifestyles in our multi-cultural African society. As such, our discourse examines health implications of marriage, with a focus on the viability and utility of premarital medical tests for sickle cell disease and HIV, as a prerequisite for matrimony in the church in Nigeria.

Key words: Sickle cell, genotype medical test information, church mediated marital union, ecclesiastical demands

DOI: 10.7176/DCS/9-6-12

Publication date:June 30^th 2019