“The national plan aims to reinforce capacities of concerned stakeholders. It will also help to change people’s behaviour and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS,” said Sonia Boni, the permanent secretary for the National AIDS Committee.
It will focus on prevention of HIV/AIDS transmission through sexual intercourse as well as blood transfusion, she explained, adding that it will further focus on taking care of people living with HIV as well as children orphaned due to the disease.
Boni said the national communication plan is based on eight communication strategies which will enable the government to achieve communication for behavioural change; communication for social change; social mobilization and mass awareness campaigns.
“This national communication plan will be a reference tool for all communication interventions in the fight against AIDS in Benin,” she affirmed.
According to a health survey carried out in Benin in 2012, HIV/AIDS prevalence rate stands at 1.2 percent. It stands at 1.6 percent in urban zones and 0.9 percent in rural zones. Enditem