CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Alexis Gnonlonfoun, Guinea, November 1998
THEME = AIDS
The struggle against AIDS
remains top priority and of real concern in Conakry.
At the moment, there's no known cure for AIDS so we can't ignore
this pandemic any longer.
Large numbers of people are falling victims to the disease
But the situation is not hopeless. A major effort is being made to inform people about AIDS and how to prevent it. This is having positive results, especially among teenagers and young people. Awareness campaigns are bearing fruit as people change their behavioural attitudes: condoms are increasingly used.
Some years ago, Guinea was relatively free from AIDS. Today, the epidemic is spreading rapidly and ev-ery day a further 40 people are infected with the virus. The situation is alarming: More women are infected than men; 96% of cases are caused through sexual intercourse. These figures make it ever more urgent that clear and precise information is given about the disease: that's the only real way to prevent AIDS.
Many women have to become prostitutes in order to earn their living - young women arrive in town from the countryside with nothing they can call their own. And there are large numbers of women living by themselves because they're divorced, or are widows or are separated from their husbands. Conakry has a population of more than one million, and recent statistics indicate that 25% of Conakry's families are one-parent families, mostly with women looking after the children. The harsh living conditions and the women's poor state of health, makes them vulnerable to Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD)s and HIV, because clearly, their unhealthy environment and financial insecurity, add to the stress factors.
53% of Conakry's population are women and the number of street children increases by the day. In general, women are poorer than men and find it extremely difficult to make ends meet. To off-set this fact, the government is making every effort so that women can borrow money to set themselves up in business and thus further the country's social and economic development. The government also wants to encourage girls' education.
In Guinea, birth-rates remain unchanged and illiteracy is very common among women. Traditional customs and the Napoleonic Code which was revised shortly after Guinea's independence in 1958, dictate women's position in society. Even though times have changed, the law regarding women in society hasn't developed - which does nothing to help them in this day and age.
Many young people are HIV and AIDS-infected, but also, sad to say, many children have to shoulder the consequences of the disease, because their parents are HIV-infected or have died from AIDS or have brothers or sisters HIV-positive. Some children have lost their mothers from AIDS; others have also lost their fathers for the same reason. Hence the number of orphans is growing all the time. Some orphans are taken in by other family-members; the less fortunate end up on the streets.
AIDS victims are not generally rejected by their families. People are increasingly aware that AIDS is a scourge of our time and they adopt a philosophical attitude. "There's nothing shameful in having AIDS", they say. The death of a young person infected with AIDS is a loss for both family and country.
One important element in the development of AIDS is the disposal of biomedical refuse in Conakry. This waste, produced by the clinics and health centres, raises serious public health problems. Health- care officials emphasize that poor management of such refuse may be a source of infectious diseases. For example, the way in which certain hospitals dispose of their medical waste, may be the cause of Hepatitis B and C and of AIDS.
Leaders of religious groups and of NGOs have embarked on an all-out war against child prostitution - increasing all the time. In spite of promises made by the government to do something about it, nothing has happened. Poverty forces children into prostitution and concerned people are now making their voices heard. Paedophiles are subject to the full weight of the law and a number of NGOs have decided to take action against "sex tourism". But many say not enough is being done to stamp out this evil and to help the children.
The ordinary citizen believes the police need to be better informed so as to catch the clients of child prostitutes. Civil society is adamant that financial interests, corruption and the indifference of certain policemen hampers the fight against child prostitution in Guinea.
A national programme for revitalizing the country's health centres is now underway, and within this framework, a project to support the fight against AIDS has been launched in partnership with Montreal University, Canada. The project is intended to provide the necessary back-up to the already existing medical personnel training programme, and to provide the basic drugs needed. The health centres will also provide a care service for STD victims in the various regions, but mainly in Conakry where the prevalence is very high.
Dr. Aloys Kamuragiye is specifically concerned with one section of the project. Firstly, he aims to improve Conakry's 13 health centres, by providing support to STD clinics run by the two university hospitals and to the Mother-and-Child clinic in Conakry. He's also planning other projects such as: initiating awareness campaigns to show people how to avoid AIDS; supporting community initiatives with groups especially at risk, such as prostitutes and casual labourers; improving three health centres situated in Fria, Boké and Kamsar. Secondly, he intends to seek to provide the wherewithal, so that health workers in the regions of Guinea Forestière (bordering with Côte d'Ivoire) and Haute- Guinée (bordering with Mali), can cooperate with organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières
The STD clinics run by both of Conakry's university hospitals are important centres for healthcare. They need to be provided with the necessary technical back-up, so as to be able to care adequately for patients who return time and time again with the same problem.
Similar activity will be carried out in industrial centres such as Fria, Boké and Kamsar because of the high density of population. These towns are close to Guinea's borders with Côte d'Ivoire and Mali, and the proximity of the gold mines attracts many workers from outside the area. Appropriate technical support will be provided by NGOs and other concerned associations especially for the fight against STDs.
The National Coordinator of Guinea's anti-AIDS project and the National Committee of the fight against AIDS, both in permanent contact with the National Public Health Department, are active in several fields such as: Providing appropriate information to various concerned groups; contacting the Media; planning national exhibitions; coordinating their efforts with government projects; planning awareness campaigns.
Government must make the fight against AIDS an absolute priority. The situation has now become so critical that everything possible should be done to reach those of the population "at risk". Many efforts have been made in this direction. What were termed "emergency programmes" for tackling immediate needs, should now develop into long-term projects so as to form a real basis for fighting AIDS.
One project consisted in preparing a comic strip for adults, drawn by Africans for Africans. Mrs. Madeleine Barbier Decrozés with the support of the World Health Organisation (WHO) coordinated this type of regional project involving Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger. Thanks to WHO's support, the project was prepared in each of the countries concerned, in cooperation with the Committee against AIDS and the various governments. People can understand the kind of humour portrayed in the comic strip, and can make the necessary connections with the underlying theme.
Other means of communication are used. Associations and NGO's involve their field workers, many of whom come from the ranks of the groups targeted. What do they do? They lead awareness sessions among prostitutes; they produce plays about how to prevent STDs and AIDS; they increasingly make use of drama, songs and dances in their efforts to bring the message home to the people. The aim is: "Education through entertainment".
The fact that an increasing number of young people are now infected with HIV, is an incentive for religious leaders (both Muslim and Catholic) to join in the awareness campaigns. By combining their moral concerns with discussions and constructive persuasion, they underline that young people can themselves become prime movers for change.
Other organisations have likewise lent their weight in the common effort. Their aim is to organise a vast information campaign, tackling such issues as preventing and understanding AIDS, providing medical and psycho-social care, providing a care-service for those afflicted with the virus.
Creative action can clearly change a way of life. One person can help another by providing hope and urging those in need not to give way to despair. Any funds collected should go towards setting up a Counselling And Support Centre for HIV-infected people and their families, in Conakry. One thing is certain - the necessary funding will somehow be provided. In spite of differing religious opinions and indeed, differing religions, people will stand together. It's striking that in a country of over seven million people, in spite of bitterness and despair, people have vast resources of strength and faith.
Self-help and faith. Yes, all those who fight against AIDS are in dire need of both.
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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