30 October 2007
Maputo — The spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, among the armed forces of the SADC (Southern African Development Community) region, has become "extremely worrying", according to Mozambique's Deputy Defence Minister, Agostinho Mondlane.
Speaking at a SADC conference of military health services, held in Maputo last week, to analyse the impact of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis on the armed forces, Mondlane said that current levels of HIV infection "oblige us to redouble our efforts to develop changes in behaviour among the public at large, and among soldiers in particular".
He urged military health personnel to intervene vigorously in the fight against AIDS, through measures aimed at preventing the spread of the infection.
Participants at the meeting called for a common policy towards AIDS among the SADC armed forces, as well as towards tuberculosis and malaria, so that these diseases do not compromise the efficiency of the military.
Inevitably, this raised the question: should recruits to the armed forces be obliged to take an HIV test ? For the Angolan representative, the answer was a resounding yes. He pointed out that recruits are routinely screened for other health problems, and nobody complains.
"If I screen a recruit, and he has tuberculosis or a problem with his foot, then he doesn't join the army", he said. "There are criteria and procedures for the armed forces, which must be observed".
"AIDS is a disease like any other", said the Angolan representative. "An HIV-positive individual may not be sick, but if he is submitted to intensive physical effort, as is the norm in military training, it is natural that he will soon weaken.
Technically and scientifically speaking, it is obvious that such an individual should not enter the armed forces, at least not in active service."
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