Abstract

PIP: As of March 1996, Cote d'Ivoire was the West African country with the highest rate of HIV infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 6.8% of the adult population was HIV-seropositive by the end of 1994, while the Harvard School of Public Health estimated that 15% of the population was infected by 1992. In 1993-95 in Abidjan, more than 45% of adult tuberculosis patients were infected with HIV, 15% of pregnant women attending clinics were infected in 1995, and 16% of men reporting sexually transmitted diseases were infected in 1994, down from 34% in 1991. HIV infection rates in the country are highest in the southern region, close to Abidjan. A study conducted in Abidjan found that 95% of HIV infections were with HIV-1. 25,236 AIDS cases had been reported from Cote d'Ivoire to WHO by June 1995, although the Harvard School of Public Health estimates that 100,000 people in the country had AIDS by 1992. In 1993, 7000 pediatric AIDS cases had been reported and in 1995, there were an estimated 80,000 children orphaned by the loss of one or both parents to AIDS. The expected burden of HIV/AIDS in Cote d'Ivoire and the potential for far more HIV infection in the event of a major epidemic among the general population, risk factors for the spread of HIV in the country, government and nongovernmental organization responses to the epidemic, and the extent of external assistance are discussed.