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Senegal has lowest HIV/AIDS rates in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2003, there were an estimated 41,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, representing 0.8 percent of the adult population. The epidemic has disproportionately affected the very poor, particularly those involved in sex work or migrant labour.
The government’s prevention efforts have successfully kept a larger-scale epidemic at bay. Key to this has been an early, all-encompassing programme involving religious and political leaders as well as the NGO sector, which already had a well-developed tradition of community mobilisation.
But it was found that Louga had an AIDS problem that had to be addressed, and with the backing of the mayor and a panel of donors, and media publicity, a Communal Consulting Platform was set up to manage the AIDS crisis at district level.
A study on the impact of the disease on the local economy was conducted to help the municipality in its policy and planning strategies. In an on-going process, moves are now afoot to boost the district health facilities, awareness sermons are held in Mosques around the city, and the results of a knowledge-sharing seminar with the Association of Senegalese Mayors has produced a report documenting the Louga experience. |