Health minister announces ARV treatment for 1,000

An estimated 1,000 people affected by HIV/AIDS in the Republic of Congo are due to benefit from a project initiated by the Ministry of Health to provide them with anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment. France is contributing the ARV drugs. The project was unveiled during a training seminar for health practitioners that ended on 30 April in the capital, Brazzaville. The seminar focused on the latest information regarding care and ARV treatment of patients. The initiative would be initially launched in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, the country’s two major cities, and would later extend to other locations, Felly Mayitsat, the office director of the Health Ministry, said. Health Minister Alain Moka told the seminar participants that some 100 people with HIV/AIDS in Congo had access to adequate treatment, and that the level of medical treatment available lagged far behind other nations. According to the National Programme to Combat AIDS (Programme national de lutte contre le sida), the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire is 7 percent and 17 percent respectively, with an 80-percent mortality rate. About 10 percent of the country's population of 3.1 million may be infected. In December 2002, the government said it would make available 300 million francs CFA (US $530,673) for the purchase of ARV drugs. Monthly ARV treatment for an HIV/AIDS patient in the country costs about 350,000 francs CFA ($619) - roughly equal to the national average annual income.