Authors: Okey-Uchendu Ezinne Ogonna, Prof. S.S. Ifah, Assoc. Prof. Ambrose W. Ogidi
Abstract: Substance abuse and HIV infection are interlinked public health problems among young people in Nigeria, yet context-specific evidence for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) remains scattered. This paper reviews existing evidence to identify the factors that encourage substance abuse among young people in the FCT, to examine patterns of drug use and how they relate to the spread of HIV infection, and to identify the factors associated with both drug abuse and HIV transmission. A desk-review design was adopted. Peer-reviewed articles, national surveys and technical reports, published mainly between 2010 and 2025, were identified through academic databases and institutional websites, screened against stated inclusion criteria, and analysed through thematic synthesis guided by Differential Association Theory, the Social Ecological Model and the Health Belief Model. The evidence shows that peer and family influence, poverty and unemployment, easy availability of psychoactive substances and weak enabling environments encourage drug use. Cannabis, tramadol and codeine-based syrups dominate use in Nigeria; injecting is less common but carries the highest per-act risk of HIV transmission, while non-injecting use raises risk through unprotected sex, multiple partnerships and transactional sex. Stigma, criminalisation, low risk perception and limited youth-friendly services link drug abuse to HIV acquisition. The paper recommends integrated, multi-sectoral and youth-centred programmes that combine prevention, harm reduction, HIV services, livelihood support and rehabilitation, and calls for primary studies in the FCT..
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23335554
