World Bank rehabilitates Brazzaville blood transfusion centre

The World Bank presented the government of the Republic of Congo on Thursday with a newly-renovated National Blood Transfusion Centre (Centre National de Transfusion Sanguine) in the capital, Brazzaville. The operations officer at the World Bank in Brazzaville, Bienvenu Montebiyoudi, told IRIN on Monday that the objective of the renovation, valued at 13 million francs CFA (US $21,775), was to improve working conditions in the building given the role the centre played in the country's fight against HIV/AIDS. He said the work, which was part of the bank's $12-million initiative to help the Congo battle the spread of HIV/AIDS, included the installation of an air-conditioning system, repair of windows and ceilings, and painting of the building that had fallen into disrepair. In his comments made during the handover ceremony, Montebiyoudi said the state had made "remarkable efforts" to tackle the problems faced by the Congolese people. He called on the government to take the financial and administrative actions necessary to keep the centre in good working order. Repeated civil wars in the Congo during the 1990s left much of Brazzaville's infrastructure badly damaged or destroyed. Health Minister Alain Moka has said about 10 percent of the country's 3.1 million people may be HIV-positive, with about 300 people newly infected each day nationwide. However, speaking on 24 July at the launch of the Congo's National Council for the Fight Against AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, he said only about 100 people with HIV/AIDS had access to adequate treatment. He said despite the prevalence of the disease in the country, the level of medical treatment available lagged far behind other nations. He said that despite efforts to contain the crisis, such as the provision of mobile treatment centres in the cities of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, as well as projects to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, patient care nationwide was woefully inadequate.