Maputo — Mozambican Health Minister Ivo Garrido has ordered the abolition of the separate "Day Hospitals" inside public health units that catered solely for HIV-positive people.

According to a report in Wednesday's issue of the Maputo daily paper "Noticias", Garrido took this decision because he regarded such separate treatment as contributing to the stigmatization of, and discrimination against people suffering from HIV/AIDS.

"The Day Hospitals have no place in the structure of the Ministry of Health", said Garrido. Regardless of the beliefs of those who had set them up, they had become foci of discrimination against AIDS patients "and that's why I have decided to abolish them".

Furthermore, Garrido strongly opposed dealing with the mother-to-child transmission of HIV in an "isolated" fashion, which merely discouraged HIV-positive women from seeking help.

"The programme must be integrated into the mother-and-child health services provided in our hospitals and health centres", said Garrido. "As health workers, we will know what to do to ensure that a greater number of women seek out this programme".