Congolese Military and Police Launch New War - Against AIDS

KINSHASA - Even as it prepares to implement a peace accord signed earlier this week to end Africa's widest war, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is mobilizing its troops to combat an enemy potentially deadlier than the rebels it has been fighting for the past four years. In an historic gathering earlier this month, representatives of the highest levels of government - including the ministers of interior, defense and health - sat side by side as they exhorted police and military leaders to take decisive action to protect their troops, their families, and the nation from the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS.

More than 100 senior military and police officers participated in a strategy session on 3 December to define steps to fight AIDS within their ranks and in communities across the DRC. The meeting was organized by the Ministry of Health, in partnership with UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and the International Centre for Migration and Health (ICMH). Dressed in khaki and blue, the battle-hardened officers of the Congolese Armed Forces (FAC) and the Congolese National Police (PNC) nodded in sad acknowledgment as the ministers described how the epidemic was ravaging the DRC and neighboring countries.

The unprecedented participation of three ministers and dozens of top military and police leaders in a technical health meeting is indicative of the priority now being given to the fight against HIV/AIDS by the administration of President Joseph Kabila. "This extraordinary demonstration of unity and support reflects an understanding by the Congolese government that improving public health is the responsibility of everyone, and that the military and the police may have a special role to play in preventing the spread of the HIV virus," said Manuel Carballo, Executive Director of ICMH. "If the determination and commitment of the officers here today is any indication, then the DRC has a rare chance to slow the pandemic."

Health Minister Mashako Mamba reminded the audience that AIDS has already killed more Africans than all the continent's recent conflicts combined. In the DRC, at least 1.3 million people are infected with the HIV virus, and the Joint UN Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that 120,000 Congolese died from AIDS-related complications in 2001.

Some development agencies fear that the HIV/AIDS situation in this war-torn country may be even worse than official estimates suggest. What is certain is that the four-year war, which involved armies from seven neighboring countries and displaced at least two million people, has massively contributed to the spread of the HIV virus across the region.

The officers attending the high-level meeting seemed determined to get behind the government's new campaign. The room erupted in applause when Minister of Interior Theophile Mbemba called on "everyone - health workers and police, social workers and soldiers - to join together in a new war to protect the citizens of the DRC from the scourge of AIDS."

Pamela Delargy, Chief of the UNFPA Humanitarian Response Unit, believes the new initiative could be a model for other countries in the region. "This is what post-conflict development should be all about -- bringing everyone, including ex-combatants, together to promote improved health and HIV prevention. This could be a breakthrough in how the DRC and other countries respond to the AIDS epidemic and post-war reconstruction."

Defense Minister Irung Awan told the assembled officers that AIDS "has become an occupational hazard for uniformed service men and women around the world." The deployment of the FAC and rebel armies has undoubtedly been a factor in the spread of the HIV virus as well. According to UNAIDS, prevalence rates for sexually-transmitted infections among armed forces are 2 to 5 times higher than among civilian populations, even in peacetime. In war, this difference can skyrocket to 50 times higher or more. Because soldiers are often posted in high-risk areas - far from home, their regular sex partners, and the cultural norms of their communities - they are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior.

Military camps also tend to attract the sex industry, bringing together two of the groups at highest risk of infection: commercial sex workers and men aged 15 to 24. In the DRC, this dynamic has been compounded by the presence of foreign armies from countries with extremely high rates of HIV prevalence, such as Uganda and Rwanda.

The one-day meeting ended with consensus on priority actions to be taken by the military and police. These include establishing programmes to train trainers and peer educators, and disseminating HIV/AIDS messages to military and police at all levels. A coordinating committee for the HIV/AIDS campaign, established within the FAC and the PNC, will be responsible for organizing information campaigns, advocacy initiatives, condom distribution programmes, studies and evaluations, and future workshops.

Over the coming months, UNFPA and ICMH will work with the Congolese government to expand the initiative to the farthest corners of the country, working with military and police, as well as peacekeepers, to promote AIDS prevention and social responsibility. The uniformed services campaign is part of a wider UNFPA-ICMH programme in the DRC, and will be accompanied by special programmes for other vulnerable groups, including adolescents, commercial sex workers and refugees. UNFPA and ICMH are also supporting health service rehabilitation and staff training designed to reduce the country's extremely high maternal mortality rate.

Contact Information:

David del Vecchio
Email: delvecchio@unfpa.org