About 40 HIV-positive people on Tuesday began to receive free anti-retrovirals after Minister of Health Muhammad Ali Kamil launched Djibouti’s first distribution of anti-retroviral medication at Peltier hospital, the country’s main medical centre.
Medical staff at the hospital said the treatment was started through a donor-funded programme called Global Care for People Living with Aids.
In addition to contributions from numerous donor countries and United Nations agencies — UNAids in particular — the International Monetary Fund provided the Djibouti government with $12-million in support of the initiative.
According to Kamil, one in 20 youths in Djibouti is HIV-positive.
“While not mandatory, out of those who have chosen to be tested, at least 8Â 000 people have been found to be HIV-positive, while an estimated 10Â 000 others are HIV-positive and do not know it,” he said at the launch.
According to Denis Matera, a French doctor working at Peltier hospital, the rate of HIV prevalence in the seaside capital, Djiboutiville, where half the nation’s population is concentrated, is about 5%.
“This is very worrisome,” he said. “The prevalence rate in other districts of the country is no greater than 1%.”
National health authorities estimate that the HIV prevalence rate countrywide is about 3% of a total population of about 600Â 000. The disease is primarily spread — in an estimated 90% of the cases — through sexual contact.
According to the authorities, several factors have contributed to the alarming spread of the pandemic, including the high concentration of the population in the capital, and an illiteracy rate of 49% among Djiboutians, many of whom live below the poverty line.
Djibouti also hosts a significant number of military bases, which has encouraged the proliferation of bars and nightclubs, the authorities say. The authorities add that Djibouti has been a relatively peaceful oasis in an otherwise turbulent region, and has found itself hosting thousands of refugees fleeing conflict throughout the Horn of Africa.
Many of the refugees are drawn to Djibouti by an economy fuelled by the presence of Western expatriates, which has likewise encouraged impoverished young women to resort to prostitution.
It is also believed that the large-scale arrival of transporters from Ethiopia since May 1998 — when Addis Ababa was forced to seek a new seaport when its conflict with Eritrea broke out — has also contributed to the spread of HIV. — Irin