The coastal highway connecting Abidjan to Lagos stretches more than 1,000 km through five West African countries and handles a large share of the region's overland commerce. It also functions as one of the area's main corridors for HIV transmission, with infection rates along its length running well above the national average in each country it crosses.
In Benin's Comè-Ouidah zone, just west of Cotonou and directly on the route, prevalence stands at roughly 5 percent, more than double the national figure. Médecins du Monde has run a prevention and care program there since 2005, testing 20,000 people and identifying 2,200 as HIV-positive; about 500 of them are now on antiretroviral therapy.
The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Association, headquartered in Cotonou, targets border towns and high-exposure groups including long-haul drivers, sex workers, and traders. Some trained outreach workers hold ordinary jobs, such as taxi driving, and steer daily conversations toward testing and condom use.
Stigma slows progress. Fear of rejection keeps many people from seeking tests, and some HIV-positive mothers continue breastfeeding rather than risk being identified. One 45-year-old man in the Comè program, who spent his working life moving between ports from Ivory Coast to Nigeria, was expelled by his family after illness prevented him from earning. He now lives with a local support association and receives antiretroviral drugs.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in December 2007, in its own words.