Laos successful keeping HIV at bay
AIDS rare despite epidemic in neighboring nations
June 14, 1997
Web posted at: 2:32 p.m. EDT (1832 GMT)From Correspondent Tom Mintier
VIENTIANE, Laos (CNN) -- Laos is surrounded by neighbors where the level of HIV infection has reached epidemic proportions.
Yet, in 1996, there were but 131 confirmed cases of HIV infection here. There were only 17 AIDS-related deaths.
What has made the difference? The Laotian government took a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to fighting HIV and AIDS.
Long before the first case was reported, the government formed a committee to deal with the potential HIV epidemic. A public awareness and prevention campaign was launched before HIV had spread deeply into the population.
"I think policy makers and planners and decision makers at the highest levels of government have taken the issue very seriously," said Tony Lisle, director of the United Nations' AIDS program. "I think, appropriately, they see the need to upgrade their response."
The success of the Laotian HIV education effort is particularly striking given the fact that about half the population is illiterate. The country is also among the world's poorest, with nearly half the population subsisting on an annual income less than U.S.$100.
But while the prevention effort has so far helped protect the Laotian population, health officials are now concerned about what the recent easing of travel restrictions might hold for the future.
There are more outsiders in Laos now. Workers from Vietnam, truck drivers from Cambodia and tourists from Thailand are entering the country. And all three of those surrounding countries have HIV infection rates significantly higher than the rate in Laos.
Related sites:
- CDC - AIDS Clinical Trials/Treatment
- World Health Organization - AIDS/HIV Page
- AIDS treatment news
- The Body: A multimedia AIDS and HIV information resource
- Project Inform
- American Foundation for AIDS Research
- AIDS Education & Research Trust
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention
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