Nigeria is home to the second-largest HIV epidemic in the world. Due to its neglected healthcare system, dwindling economy and persistent cultural beliefs, and stigmatization of people with HIV, the virus has been transmitted relatively freely for decades. This long-running crisis has recently transformed due to China's One Belt, One Road Initiative. This initiative has led to large and unintended consequences through infrastructure projects on healthcare in general and the HIV epidemic in particular. This research focuses on the effects of BRI on the HIV epidemic through the theoretical framework of the 5 A's, availability, accommodation, financial accessibility, acceptability, and geographical accessibility (Otu, 2018), that reflect the individual needs and the factors that need to be realized before the access to healthcare is satisfied. The importance of geographical accessibility (Williams & Wilkins, 2012) and cultural, political, and economic factors that play a significant role in the epidemic are discussed in the case study. The research uses a qualitative approach. A literature review and a case study analyze BRI and Nigeria's HIV epidemic based on primary and secondary data. The case study is complemented by in-depth unstructured interviews with experts of BRI or Nigeria's HIV epidemic. The results acknowledge that BRI is both an opportunity and a challenge for Nigeria's HIV epidemic. BRI is an opportunity to cope with Nigeria's socio-economic and political causes and consequences. Nigeria's economy is boosted by constructing roads, railways, and airports. Due to this, Nigeria will be more accessible for people, goods, and services, and since the economy and health are connected, their healthcare system will be improved. A challenge of BRI is the lack of transparency and vagueness of the Chinese government to fully understand their intentions for the country and the danger of falling into a debt-trap. Nonetheless, Nigeria is highly in need of funding and BRI can be seen as a step in the right direction regarding Nigeria's HIV epidemic through long-term funding and information sharing. This research touches upon humanitarian and scientific values. Only by fully understanding the effects of BRI on the HIV epidemic can transmissions be efficiently and effectively contained. As there is little academia written about the effects of BRI on public health and since China's role as a humanitarian actor and world power is increasing, it will be interesting to learn more about tomorrow's humanitarian aid.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-453702 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Bosma, Laura |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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