The number of people living with HIV/AIDS has been rising worldwide, compared with two years ago, the highest increases occurring in Eastern and Central Asia as well as Eastern Europe. This year?s theme, chosen by the United Nations (UN) is: ?Woman, Girls, HIV and Aids.? The minister of Health, Ashok Jugnauth, pointed out that 1,032 people had been found HIV-positive in Mauritius by September 2004. Out of these, 115 have died. The only way to keep the virus under control, he said, is to enable all stakeholders and non-governmental organizations to work together.

Most HIV infections occur through drug injection with contaminated needles and unsafe sex. Most injecting drug users are young and many are sexually active, thus risking double exposure to the virus. In Mauritius, 87% of the people infected with HIV/Aids are injecting drug users. The recent sensitization campaign, brought forward by the non-governmental organization PILS, had a great impact on public opinion. The initiators of this national campaign had recourse to movies well-known to the young.

To most stakeholders and observers, this PILS campaign was well done as it talked about this scourge in a way that directly aimed at youngsters and the sexually active more generally.

Women and girls make up almost 57% of all people infected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, where a striking 76% of young people (aged 15-24 years) living with HIV are female. These trends point to serious gaps in the AIDS response. Some countries still display a mismatch between AIDS spending priorities and the main epidemiological features of their epidemics.

Vunerability of women

As a result, population groups such as injecting drug users and homosexuals are often neglected in AIDS prevention campaigns. Intervening at the Grand-Bay International Centre, Ashok Jugnauth declared that concrete measures had been taken by his ministry to protect and inform Mauritians about the risks of HIV/Aids. A national sensitization campaign, he said, aimed at pregnant women, would be undertaken soon. The latter would also benefit from free HIV screening and those found positive would be subjected to a close medical follow-up. ?The virus is a real threat to the flowering of humanity,? he said.

A recent UNICEF survey found that up to 50% of young women in high prevalence countries did not know the basic facts about AIDS. Yet, the vulnerability of women and girls to HIV infection stems not only from ignorance, but also from their pervasive disempowerment. Most women around the world become HIV-infected through their partner?s high-risk behavior, over which they wield little, if any, control. Around the world, the epidemic?s escalating impact on women is occurring in the context of profound gender, class and other inequalities. The plight of women and children in the face of AIDS once more underlines the need for realistic strategies to be defined. This is why the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS was launched by UNAIDS in the early 2004 to highlight the effects on women and girls and to stimulate effective action. In Mauritius, governmental authorities and NGOs have seized the opportunity to work together and try to save as many lives as they can.