More Than One Percent of Madagascans HIV-Positive: Health Ministry

On Tuesday, the health ministry said that more than 1 percent of Madagascar's population is HIV-positive, meaning the country is at risk for a sharp rise in AIDS cases. A study of 9,623 pregnant women from May to July this year found 1.1 percent with HIV, said Bruno Rakoto, who heads the ministry's AIDS campaign. Since pregnant women are not an at-risk group, the results can be extrapolated to the general population, said Rakoto, who estimated that there are around 176,000 Madagascans with HIV. "If married women have AIDS, their husbands do, too," said Andre Ndikuyeze, World Health Organization representative in Madagascar. He called for more testing centers. At present, Madagascar has only six centers where its 16 million people can be tested for HIV free of charge.

Back to other news for November 20, 2003