The announcement was made by the Minister of Health (Minsanté), the day after the celebration of World AIDS Day and mainly concerns pregnant women.
The Minister of Public Health has announced that a certain number of AIDS-related services will be free of charge in public and private health facilities in the national territory. Indeed, in a press release published on December 2, rapid HIV testing tests are now free for the entire population. In addition, there are medical consultations and prenatal consultations for anyone living with the AIDS virus.
Regarding the care of HIV-positive pregnant women, their prenatal check-up is now free. These are the tests of "NFS, blood glucose, albuminuria and creatinine" and the biological follow-up examinations, we learn from the press release. In addition, the Minsanté has informed about free early HIV testing for children. The same decision of the health boss mentions the free first prenatal consultation for all pregnant women.
According to UNAIDS statistics, in 2020, there are between 470,000 – 540,000 people living with the virus in the country. Girls aged 15 to 24 are nine times more infected than boys in the same age group. The organization counts 15,000 new infections last year despite a prevalence of positive cases revised downwards (5.6% to 2.7%) between 2004 and 2020.
