This is no minor victory. The low prevalence of HIV in Guinea just 1. The leaders attended training and information days, primarily through the support of associations of people living with HIV, and then organized their neighbourhood screening campaigns themselves. So we set modest targets β just 1, people screened across six neighbourhoods in the Matoto Est district. The campaign was supported by a large team of health promotion officers who were trained during the Ebola epidemic.
For three weeks, 14 health promotion officers and 45 community workers went through the Matoto Est district, street by street, with HIV activists carrying out the screening and providing counselling. Due to this low coverage, morbidity and mortality resulting from AIDS is out of proportion with its low prevalence, In , there were 3, deaths recorded from AIDS in Guinea, more than Swaziland 3, β the country with the highest prevalence in the world and twice as many people living with HIV.
This is why the MSF project wants to expand its HIV activities and develop treatment models suitable for countries in West and Central Africa, which have been largely forgotten by the AIDS revolution - especially particularly in Guinea, where the Ebola epidemic made it harder to access already limited healthcare.
Further strategic adjustments to the approach are needed to better target women, who are on average more affected by HIV than men but were not as well reached by the campaign, as well as to better target key populations such as sex workers and men who have sex with men.
It offers diagnosis, treatment and adherence support through a decentralised approach in six health centres across the capital city, as well as at an outpatient clinic in Matam district.
