NIGER: Country's first HIV/AIDS clinic operational

JOHANNESBURG, 13 Nov 2003 (PLUSNEWS) - A specialist HIV/AIDS out-patient clinic and public awareness centre has been opened through a joint initiative between the government of Niger and the local Red Cross.

The centre, which is located in the capital, Niamey, has been in operation since October and currently provides testing facilities, specialist medical treatment and psychological support to people living with HIV/AIDS.

The president of the Niger Red Cross, Ali Bandiare, told the UN news service PlusNews: "Our dream has started to come true. We are convinced that the clinic will provide drugs and psychosocial help to people living with, and affected by, HIV/AIDS."

Some 80,000 of the landlocked and largely desert country's 11 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, and the government has said it hopes to set up more treatment centres soon.

[ENDS]