Panafrican News Agency - November 7, 2001
"The mission aimed at sensitising people in the rural areas who are facing a rural exodus so that they are more aware of the dangers of the pandemic", Presidential adviser on Information, Education and Communication, Abdoua Kanta, said.
In 1999 there were 1,625 reported AIDS cases in Tahoua, whereas the national average was below 100, except for the capital Niamey, AIDS statistics showed.
To explain the relatively high number of AIDS cases in the district, health workers blamed the high rate of emigration to other West African countries.
Many of these people came back infected with the HIV, which they subsequently spread within their families and community, the workers said.
Community leaders like village headmen, religious and political authorities took part in the three-week mission carried out in Bouza, Keita, Tahoua and Illela areas of the district.
The mission fell within the scope of an awareness campaign essentially oriented towards emigrants in the regions of Dosso, Tahoua and Tillabery, sources said.
According to Kanta, the taboos and other preconceived ideas about AIDS are gradually fading away among the people. Instead, the people are being more realistic and aware of the pandemic and its deadly consequences.
The awareness sessions held during the mission were accompanied by live music from a famous local band which played at the market places of all the visited villages.
Among other activities carried out during the mission were the showing of video films and still photos, listening to audio cassettes, leaflets distribution followed by debates, and discussions designed to assess the people's understanding of the disease.
According to statistics which show serious disparities between the regions, the overall AIDS prevalence rate in Niger is estimated at 2 percent, or 5,626 cases.
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