15 March 2005
Maputo — The general commander of the Mozambican police, Miguel dos Santos, declared in Maputo on Monday that an average of 150 Mozambican policemen are dying every year of AIDS, according to a report on Radio Mozambique.
Speaking at the opening of a regional course on HIV/AIDS for police officers, organised by SARPCCO (Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation), dos Santos warned that high HIV infection rates within the police force damage the ability of the police to meet the challenge of serving society.
Dos Santos pointed out that among the many consequences of this high infection rate is the reduction of staff, the increase in the number of orphaned children, and degradation of family ties.
He noted that all this jeopardises efforts of the SARPCCO member countries in their fight against crime.
"It is known that the HIV/AIDS pandemic hits almost every country around the world, and the most worrying is the lack of a cure, which leads many people to believe that once infected, the person is heading for death in a short period of time", he said.
"The infection rate (in Mozambique) is about 14.9 per cent", said Dos Santos, pointing out that life expectancy at birth has now fallen back to 38 years.
"The police are part of these statistics, in terms both of infected and affected people", added dos Santos.
He noted that in Mozambique there is no legislation obliging any citizen to undertake HIV tests, and this is why only through the symptoms of opportunistic infections, that take hold once HIV has damaged the body's immune system, does one begin to suspect that a person is infected.
Even in those cases where a person undergoes the test, the result is not disclosed. "There are cases when the diagnosis is known only when the person is seriously ill, or even after his death, which also makes it difficult to collect statistical data", he added.
Dos Santos said that police training courses are offering subjects on HIV/AIDS prevention in the various SARPCCO member countries.
He added that candidates for police courses are advised to take HIV tests - not in order to exclude them in the event of a positive result, but for the infected person to know how to deal with his health situation.
Dos Santos pointed out that HIV-positive people can live for a long time if they discover their condition and take appropriate measures. The week-long SARPCCO course is supported by the Norwegian government and the South African Institute of Security Studies.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2005 Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
