Bobo-Dioulasso: The National Council for the Fight against AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections, in collaboration with the non-governmental organization REVS Plus, carried out screening and awareness-raising actions for festival-goers of the Week National Culture. In four days of screening, a total of 299 people were screened. HIV AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are still a reality in Burkina Faso. The organizations responsible for the fight against these diseases, in particular the Permanent Secretariat of the National Council for the Fight against AIDS and STIs (SP/CNLS-IST) and the NGO 'REVS Plus' seized the opportunity of the National Week of culture, Bobo 2024, to continue the crusade against the AIDS pandemic and STIs. For the head of the prevention department of the NGO Plus, Mahama Sawadogo, the SNC is an opportunity to bring 'good' information to Burkinabè people in general, and to festival-goers in particular. 'We saw fit within our structure to come to the SNC to provide the right information on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections because many think that HIV AIDS is over. However, it is still rampant,' Mahama Sawadogo justified the presence of the NGO REVS Plus and the SP/CNLS-IST at the 21st biennial of culture in Bobo-Dioulasso. For Mr. Sawadogo, there are always new cases of HIV infection. And during the SNC 2024, confided the head of the NGO REVS Plus, he and his collaborators 'unfortunately' recorded cases of HIV/AIDS and STIs. During four, according to his confidences, 8 cases were revealed positive including 2 HIV/AIDS and 6 hepatitis B. 'The objective of our presence was to seize the opportunity offered by the SNC to screen festival-goers and quickly treat positive cases to give them antiretroviral treatment,' he said. The choice of the SNC, continued Mr. Sawadogo, is justified by the fact that this cultural event attracts people from diverse backgrounds. 'The SNC is a mix of cultures of many people who come from inside and outside the country. So these are meetings between men and women and a lot of things can happen. So, we are taking advantage of community distribution of condoms,' he says. According to him, the NGO REVS has pooled efforts with the SP/CNLS-IST to be more efficient in order to meet the needs of festival-goers. To achieve the expected objective, several strategies were deployed on the ground. This involves awareness raising, screening, and free distribution of condoms. 'We are strengthening information in order to allow people to have the offer of a screening service alongside, and to be screened to at least know their serology in order to break with sero-ignorance,' said Mahama Sawadogo . According to him, there was enthusiasm within the awareness and screening center. 'Many people come out of curiosity, others also come because they feel concerned about having the service that is offered on the site,' he said. Source: Burkina Information Agency
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