Assessment of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Control Program in Port Sudan City

Abstract

This study was carried out for assess the quality of AIDS control program performance in Port Sudan city, the capital of Red Sea State, where 47% of the state population were settled. During the period from October 2005 to May 2006, the study target population were samples involving four hundred respondents selected randomly from (11) of the more vulnerable categories (e.g. truck drivers, prostitutes, and prisoners …etc) in addition to health care workers (nurses and midwifes), and program and partners staff. Information was collected by questionnaires, interviews, and from records. The results of this study showed in respect of the knowledge about AIDS the general successes of the program in propagation of knowledge about AIDS, the percentage of respondents who heard about AIDS attained 99%. Nevertheless, it was found that many of misconceptions about mode of transmission (32% of them believe that mosquito and blood sucking insects can transmit the disease) were still there. Also, low level of knowledge about symptoms of the disease and methods of prevention was remarkable. In respect to attitude and practices of the respondents towards HIV/AIDS patients, more efforts are needed to remove stigmatization about the disease, testing, and deal with patients and people living with AIDS to facilitate the community participation in the program activities. The site of the voluntary counseling and testing center (VCT) is unknown for the respondents; most of them (78%) fail to determine the site of the (VCT) center in Port Sudan city. Management of the program needs more coordination efforts with the stick holders and partners in planning, implementation, and evaluation of the program activities to prevent duplication. There are many excellent opportunities which are not utilized in education, mobilization of the community, and fund. The program just depends on lectures in health education. Strengthen of the surveillance system is a vital and important need to the program. Evaluation and monitoring of activities is also needed to provide the program managers and policy makers with adequate information and guidelines to direct the activities with appropriate use of available resources. In respect of health care workers, the results of the study illustrate the need to increase the percentage of coverage with training and prevention programs; just 17% attended the training about precaution measures to avoid AIDS during work. The study clarified that the Lack of human and financial resources available to the state AIDS control program and the disease related stigma represent the major constraints affecting implementation of the program activities.