On Saturday, December 1, World AIDS Day, MCDI's Improved Integrated Maternal and Neonatal Survival through Malaria and HIV/AIDS Prevention in Gabon project participated in a screening event in Tchibanga, Gabon. In rural Nyanga province where MCDI focuses its activities, the HIV prevalence rate is estimated to be around 6%. At the event, over 120 women screened for HIV, and over 3,000 condoms donated to the project by U.S. personal care company L. were distributed.

The day-long event was presented in collaboration with the Provincial Multidisciplinary Committee against HIV/AIDS (CPMLS), the General Direction for the Prevention of AIDS (DGPS), and the National Program for Combatting HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (PLIST). The screening event, with the international theme "Know Your Status," reached hundreds of participants, including the governor of Nyanga province and the regional director of health, who both took screening tests as an example for their community.

On November 30, MCDI's HIV specialist joined a radio program to promote the World AIDS Day event. Throughout the day, with assistance from the provincial governor and local administrators, MCDI staff promoted the next day's screening event. 5,000 additional condoms from L. were also donated to the national HIV/AIDS program in Libreville for distribution. Condom usage is an essential HIV prevention method, and will aid MCDI's efforts to reduce the burden of HIV in Gabon.

MCDI's work in Gabon, funded by Noble Energy, focuses on improving prevention, testing and treatment of malaria at primary health facilities, as well as testing, counseling and tracking of HIV-positive pregnant women and their newborns. From November 27-29, representatives from MCDI and Noble Energy met with General Secretary of the Ministry of Health as a follow-up to the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for project's malaria and HIV prevention work in Nyanga province.