Govt responds to increasing AIDS rate in Caprivi

The escalating HIV/AIDS rate in Namibia's northeastern Caprivi region has forced the government to step up its antiretroviral drug programme in the region. A 2002 Ministry of Health and Social Services report revealed that prevalence rates among pregnant women stood at 43 percent, much higher than the national rate of 22.5 percent. "Clearly, we have a very serious situation in the Caprivi region. There is still considerable denial of the presence of HIV/AIDS ... many people in that area believe that the large numbers of deaths are occurring due to witchcraft, and that is a very big problem for us," a local newspaper, The Namibian, quoted Health and Social Services undersecretary Norbert Forster as saying. Although no single cause for the rise in prevalence rates has been identified, the government believes the Trans-Caprivi highway linking Namibia with its landlocked Southern African neighbours is a contributing factor.