CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Michel Tchanou, Benin, September 1998
THEME = AIDS
In less than ten years, the prevailing
rate of AIDS in Benin
has multiplied tenfold. The various authorities
have not remained indifferent to this fact,
in spite of restricted means
The average Béninois has a somewhat strange sense of humour (at least to an outsider). This became apparent a few years ago when the ordinary citizen didn't believe that such a disease as AIDS really existed. He'd heard the word "SIDA" (Editor's note: SIDA is French for AIDS) but gave it a local meaning - "Low Salary Acquired With Difficulty" - a rather different kind of illness. All officialdom has that kind of disease! In Benin, nearly 80,000 people carry the AIDS virus. 2,275 were registered as AIDS sufferers between 1985-1997. The Coordinator of the National Programme for the Fight Against AIDS (PNLS) has been heard to say: "Benin can no longer be classed among the countries where AIDS hasn't made much headway".
The disease is spreading in an alarming way, especially in rural areas. The problem is, people don't know much about AIDS and this is one of the main reasons it's spreading. Local customs are also partly to blame - When it comes to the local practice of scarring people, or incisions and excisions, the same knife or blade used in the operation is used for many people without any precautions taken.
The government doesn't have sufficient means to undertake major research into AIDS. There's no hospital specialising in the treatment of this disease, Nevertheless, people HIV-positive can get hold of anti-virus medicines. There are a few researchers in Benin, and they are keeping a close watch on the different types of virus going around the country. At the same time, studies are being undertaken as to how the HIV virus is present in various areas of the same region. (Also why the HIV virus is found in one place and not in another).
The PNLS was established in 1987. It coordinates the work of those NGOs involved in the field of AIDS. The PNLS uses Information, Education and Communication in carrying out its aims.
In 1998, the PNLS organised seminars for Members of Parliament and religious leaders. The aim was to enlist their help in the fight against the scourge of AIDS. Christians, Muslims and representatives from traditional religions all agreed to involve themselves in the fight against AIDS and it's no longer a taboo subject in churches and mosques. A number of parishes have even hosted stage-plays organised by CARITAS-Benin, dealing with AIDS- related issues.
Last year, the PNLS directed its campaign towards particular groups at risk, such as prostitutes, school children and workers.
Side by side with the PNLS, the Organisation for Human Development Research (ORDH) has trained a number of village folk in the correct way of using condoms, so they can pass on this information to their neighbours. Talking of condoms, it should be noted that the International Population Service (PSI) has already distributed 2,939,176 condoms during the course of 1998, as against 55,000 in 1989.
The "New Life" Project of the French Association of Volunteers For Progress (AFVP), conducts awareness sessions. It does this with the help of people who are HIV-positive and who are prepared to share their personal knowledge with others. The "New Life" Project targets schools, factories, barracks, police stations, prisons etc. The Project also supports an association based at Cotonou, of people with the HIV virus.
The Beninois Network of Journalists has secured the help of the Media in the fight against AIDS/STDs. Media personnel are shown how information on health issues should be presented to the general public. The Network also organises the necessary media coverage for AIDS-concerned events
Other organisations such as The Rainbow and CARITAS-Benin offer help to those people who fall ill. But it should be pointed out that the medical care offered is only for opportunistic infections. Professor Séverin Anagonou (PNLS) puts it this way: "In Benin's national programme for the fight against AIDS, the country does not take care of medical expenses. Benin's policy regarding health care is very clear: "costs must be covered". Given the fact there's no social security system here, free health care doesn't enter into the picture".
That's why, instead of the Tiple Drug Therapy given in the West, Africa's "Triple Drug Therapy" covers three areas: Information; Education; Communication. This has already proved its worth at grassroots level. In Benin, a condom goes by the name of "Koffi Gbakoun" (literally - "Koffi's hat"), and its use is now part and parcel of daily life and practice of the average citizen. All the bars have got packets of condoms clearly displayed on their shelves, side by side with the beer bottles. Obviously a good way to remind clients they've got to be circumspect in many things! The "rubber generation" has well and truly arrived in Benin, and that's clear for all to see!
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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