AIDS Is "Mowing Down" Mozambique's Police

HIV/AIDS-related illnesses among Mozambique's 13,000-strong police force have crippled its ability to fight crime, the country's police Commander Miguel dos Santos said today. Around 1.5 million of Mozambique's 18 million population are HIV-infected, and the police force has not been spared, said dos Santos. Staffing levels have been slashed due to HIV/AIDS, while often those infected must be assigned to light duties. Dos Santos urged police to get tested for HIV, stressing that those who tested positive would not be excluded from the force but would undergo counseling. In most cases, however, police recruits prefer to hide their HIV status because of the stigma associated with the disease, said police spokesperson Jacinto Cuna: "They prefer to disappear and perish without it being known they are suffering from AIDS."

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