AID grant no. 681-0001-G-SS-9000-00 to the Hopital de la Mission Baptiste to support HIV testing in northern Cote d"Ivoire

Hopital Baptiste is a U.S. PVO run under the auspices of the Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society. The major activities supported under the project will include: (1) screening of all donated blood, blood products, and blood donors for HIV antibodies; (2) counseling women of childbearing age on AIDS prevention and providing voluntary screening to these women to determine the seroprevalence of HIV I and HIV II among them; (3) correlating HIV test results with individual medical and social histories in order to establish guidelines for identifying target groups and selecting asymptomatic individuals for HIV testing; (4) counseling HIV seropositive individuals on the implications of the infection and guidelines to prevent transmission; (5) repeat testing to monitor seropositive individuals; and (6) cooperation in studies to determine HIV prevalence among the general population. In addition, educational activities on AIDS and HIV will be conducted monthly in the hospital"s clinics/wards and once per term in public schools, and will be incorporated in the curriculum for community health sessions. HIV testing data as well as laboratory support will be provided to regional public health officials and other authorized agencies.