[The following report does not necessarily reflect the views of Barh Koh ESDA]

GORE, 10 March 2008 (PlusNews) - Most of the roughly 50,000 people in the Amboko and Dosseye refugee camps near Goré, in the tropical forest of southern Chad, have fled across the border from neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR), but efforts to prevent and treat HIV among the camp residents are still in their infancy.

The CAR has an HIV prevalence rate of 10.7 percent, the highest in central Africa, but southern Chad is not far behind. In 2005, official figures put HIV infection at 9.8 percent in Eastern Logone Region, where Goré is situated, the highest level in a country with a national prevalence of 3.3 percent. In the absence of voluntary counselling and HIV testing (VCT) services in the camps, it is difficult to estimate how many of the refugees may be infected, but staff at camp health centres report that sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are among the most common complaints they treat.

Statistics gathered by the Italian non-governmental organisation, COOPI (Cooperazione Internazionale), which carries out development programmes and emergency interventions in developing countries, show that STIs are much more common among the more than 12,000 Central African refugees at Amboko camp, most of whom have been there since 2003.

At Amboko camp's health centres, 41 percent of patients had STIs, compared to just 4 percent at Dosseye camp, where residents are mainly new arrivals. With support from UNHCR, COOPI plans to introduce VCT services at the camps in the near future but until testing and treatment services become available, UNHCR and its partners are focusing on prevention. Condoms have been distributed with varying degress of success.

Another sensitive issue in HIV prevention is how to assist victims of sexual violence. There are no figures on the frequency of such violence in the camps but there have been attacks, often on refugee Peul women fetching firewood and water. "Peul women want to go out into the bush to gather firewood, but some get attacked because they are alone," confirmed Aminatou Abdoulaye, 19, a refugee from CAR.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has started committees in the camps to counteract sexual violence, and also provides post-exposure prophylactic (PEP) kits, which reduce the risk of HIV infection if administered within 72 hours of the rape.