Since the onset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, scholars have attempted to understand the fast spread of this epidemic in parts of Africa. Several theoretical approaches to explaining the prevalence of HIV/AIDS have been advance since then. This dissertation uses a number of these theoretical perspectives to explain the prevalence of HIV/AIDS at the national and local levels in Nigeria. Among the theoretical perspectives deployed in this research are the political economy approach, the gender relations context, and the role of certain cultural practices in the proliferation of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. The study advances two central objectives. The first objective is to use a geographic approach to understand the spatial variation of HIV/AIDS at the national level. This objective sets out to examine the spatial landscape of this epidemic in order to identify regions of high prevalence versus those of low prevalence. The second objective of the study explores the factors that put people at risk of contracting HIV at the community levels using two carefully selected study sites, namely, Benin City and Makurdi. In trying to understand the spatial variation of the HIV/AIDS rates at the national level, the study uses geospatial analytical methods which include Moran’s I, and Getis & Ord’s Gi* statistic. These methods help to establish the presence or absence of clustering in terms of high or low levels of HIV/AIDS rates at the national level. For the micro level cases, the study of Benin City and Makurdi, using structured questionnaires and focus group discussions enabled an assessment of the understanding of risk factors by the residents. As such, this dissertation

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as Nigeria’s home-grown poverty reduction strategy (PRSP). NEEDS is a me-dium term strategy (2003-07) but which derives from the country’s long-term goals of poverty reduction, wealth creation, employment generation and value re-orientation. NEEDS is a nationally coordinated framework of action in close collaboration with the State and Local governments (with their State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy, SEEDS) and other stakeholders to con-solidate on the achievements of the last four years (1999-2003) and build a solid foundation for the attainment of Nigeria’s long-term vision of becoming the larg-est and strongest African economy and a key player in the world economy (NPC, 2004). This paper critically evaluates this programme and makes suggestions for improved implementation. viation strategies has become universal in scope. This concern has been reflected in national and international policy statements about unintended side effects of adjustment policies and the need for such policies to have “a human face”. The concern has also been brought about apparently by occa-sional remembrance by some economists and policy makers that the ultimate objec-tive of economic management is to improve the general standards of living of the citi-zenry. Poverty affects many aspects of the human condition, including physical, moral and psychological. It is often defined as a situ-ation of low income and/or low consump-