Possible health and growth implications of prostitution in Nigeria: A theoretical perspective

The desire to meet the basic needs of life in the face of poverty and increasing income inequality has propelled individuals in the country to look outward and beam their search light on alternative sources of income to either complement or substitute existing source. Prostitution, although demeaning and widely socially impugned, has been identified by some individuals as one of the feasible solutions to addressing the problem of financing basic human needs (BHNs) in the present Nigerian economic situation. Thus, the paper examines the possible health and growth implications of prostitution in Nigeria. The paper views the primary driver of prostitution through the conflict theory’s lens. As a result, the study identifies the unemployed, orphans, widows, divorcees, and members of low income households as the vulnerable groups in the economy. The paper concludes that the growth of poverty and income inequality will continue to drive prostitution among vulnerable groups, and the developmental efforts of the country will be undermined as a result of its possible associated health crisis and the sapping of human resources that otherwise could have been channeled to productive sectors of the economy. Thus, the paper suggests appropriate policy remedies that may assist in reducing the growth of prostitution among individuals and set the country on the path of growth and sustainable development.