afrol News, 15 June - Lesotho, which has one of the world's highest HIV prevalence rates, is targeting its large group of migrant workers in a new effort to stop the spread of the pandemic. Migrant workers are a special risk group when it comes to taking the deadly virus back home to the family.

Last week, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and Population Services International (PSI) launched a joint programme aimed at reducing HIV vulnerability among migrants and their families in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho.

The programme, which is funded by the Swedish international development cooperation agency (Sida), aims to increase knowledge of HIV/AIDS, access to and use of voluntary counselling and testing services and correct and consistent condom usage. Sporting tournaments, raining and outreach activities are to be organised to promote HIV prevention and testing services.

According to IOM, the new programme is to target mineworkers and their families, Lesotho Defence Force personnel, factory workers and taxi drivers. Lesotho has a long history of migrating mine workers, which have provided South Africa with a large and stable quantity of cheap labour during the last century.

Like other neighbouring countries, Lesotho is heavily impacted by HIV/AIDS, with an estimated HIV adult prevalence rate of 28.9 percent in 2004. Reflecting a general situation in Southern Africa, the disease certainly has crossed into Lesotho from South Africa.

This is also the view of IOM. "The HIV epidemic is partly fuelled by regional labour migration trends," the organisation says. Fifteen percent of Lesotho's total labour force - or about 64,000 people - is employed in South African mines.

Lesotho also hosts an important number of migrant factory workers, taxi drivers and members of the uniformed services. These are mostly Basotho from rural parts of the Kingdom, working in Maseru. Also they contribute to the spread of AIDS if they have unprotected sex in the capital.

- Labour migration leaves both the workers and their spouses vulnerable to HIV infection, commented Julia Hill-Mlati of IOM Pretoria. "Being mobile in itself is not a risk factor for HIV/AIDS. It is the situations encountered and the behaviours that migrants might adopt during the migration process that increase vulnerability to HIV/AIDS," she explains.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Tweet

Printable version

On the Afrol News front page now

UN will not monitor human rights in Western Sahara afrol News - The US has backed down on its demand that UN peacekeepers in Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara also shall monitor the human rights situation after Moroccan sources threatened to scale down relations with Washington. Read more

Central African Republic

Central African Republic falling apart afrol News - One month after the rebel movement Séléka took over power in the Central African Republic, unrest is spreading in the country. The new leader lacks control of his forces, which continue looting and abusing civilians. Read more

Kenya

Kenyatta secures tight victory in Kenya afrol News - The official election results in Kenya have finally been announced, and Uhuru Kenyatta managed to win the first poll round outright with a narrow 50.7 percent. But the main opponent, PM Raila Odinga, is filing a vote rigging complaint to the courts. Read more

Cape Verde Cape Verde to produce dragon fruit afrol News - Cape Verde authorities have invested large sums to diversify the arid country's agricultural sector. Now, the dragon fruit, originating in tropical America, is being introduced for the first commercial production in Africa. Read more

Egypt Even governors in Pharaonic Egypt died in their 20s afrol News - Researchers have analysed more than 200 mummies from ancient Egypt, finding that even high dignitaries were poorly nourished and had infectious diseases. The typical governor in Pharaonic Egypt died before he was 30 years old. Read more