Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Associated Press (12.16.07) - Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Terry Leonard
The fear is that, should HIV/AIDS take hold, it would explode. The island is one of the poorest countries in the world, and some residents turn to sex work to survive. Though isolation has spared Madagascar, its seasonal vanilla workers and new mining interests could change that.
President Marc Ravalomanana has made HIV a priority issue, taking HIV tests in public and housing the national AIDS office in the presidential palace. "He himself negotiates with the donors," notes Dr. Fanjaniaina Rajoelisolo, who heads the AIDS office. In August, the country passed a law, the first such in Africa, that levies large fines for HIV/AIDS discrimination or disclosing a patient's serostatus.
Prevention messages populate billboards and posters, and condoms and testing are accessible. More than 100 testing centers have been set up, and mobile units are sent to remote areas. The government hopes to distribute 400,000 testing kits by year's end and to treat 90 percent of HIV/AIDS patients with antiretroviral drugs within five years.
At-risk groups, particularly people under age 19, are targeted. Thousands of teachers have been trained to discuss HIV/AIDS with their students, and scout troops have received kits to help them become peer educators. An educational approach is also being used among sex workers.
Young people can receive discounted check-ups, which one doctor in Antananarivo's poorer neighborhoods said is working well. "There is a lot of sensitivity now to health issues," said Dr. Voahirana Lalao Raniriharisoa. "Health care is improving, and now more people are aware of their own health."
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