HIV/AIDS awareness programme targets prisoners

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: HIV/AIDS awareness programme targets prisoners

JOHANNESBURG, 29 Jan 2004 (PLUSNEWS) - An NGO has launched a prison HIV/AIDS awareness programme in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic (CAR).

The programme is headed by the Comite National de Lutte contre le Sida, and aims to inform prisoners about the risks of engaging in same-sex activities, which are often unprotected.

Dr Marcel Massanga, an official of the NGO, was quoted by the state-owned Radio Centrafrique as saying: "Prisoners often have sexual behaviour with high risks that favour quick propagation of HIV/AIDS."

Research shows that overcrowding in prisons frequently leads to an increase in promiscuity and high rates of HIV infection.

[ENDS]

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