- Partnership information
- Real Life Story
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Dr Henri Chenal, Director of Abidjan's Center for Bioclinical Research (Centre Intégré de Recherches Biocliniques d'Abidjan or CIRBA), has dedicated his life to providing treatment and care for HIV positive patients through a medical and research center he runs in Treichville, a neighborhood of Abidjan. He sustains his clinic via donations from international governments, corporations and individuals. He was born and raised in Abidjan, his family having moved here from France in 1946.
How did CIRBA begin?
CIRBA began in 1992 as a research center to improve and encourage the development of Aids research in Africa. In 1996, we started to provide care and treatment for HIV positive patients. By the end of 1996, we were offering anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy to ninety-six patients. This number grew to 120 in 1998 and to 400 in 1999. In 2004, CIRBA is treating 3,100 HIV positive patients.
From 1998 to 2000, CIRBA, in partnership with the pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme, participated in the first Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART) program in Côte d'Ivoire to test if Ivorian patients could handle and follow the treatment.
Our center, which is accredited by Côte d'Ivoire's Ministry of Health, provides comprehensive HIV treatment. The idea is for our patients to receive all their treatment here, in one place. On average, we see about seven new patients each day. Patients come to us on their own will. Some are referred to us by companies who offer HIV care to their employees.
Why are you doing what you're doing?
If I wasn't HIV positive myself, I probably would not be involved in the fight against Aids in this country. I was diagnosed HIV positive in 1987. At this time in my life I was a full-time surgeon. I became infected with HIV via an operation I was doing on a patient who happened to be HIV positive. The tool I was using to operate cut my finger and the blood of my patient infected me.
I was told I had two to six months to live. Eight years later, when my wife passed away, I had two choices to escape my illness or fight it head on. I chose to fight.
I know what it's like to be HIV positive. My patients and colleagues here at CIRBA are my family. Half of my staff is HIV positive.
Why is there so much discrimination towards people living with HIV in Cote d'Ivoire?
Aids has a reputation for being a disease linked to people who practice high-risk behavior, such as prostitutes or homosexuals, and thus who are believed to be "immoral". The media has largely contributed to the stigma. Furthermore, Africans don't talk about sex. It's a taboo subject. Aids is a disease like any other, but it will be a long time before people start treating it this way.
| CIRBA Timeline |
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1992: Professor Luc Montagnier, co-discoverer of HIV, the virus leading to Aids, provides funding to CIRBA to encourage the development of Aids research in Africa. 1994: Research section of center is built. 1996: Second part of center, including clinic, diagnostic laboratories and conference room, completed. Inaugurated by former president Henri Konan Bédié as a center for international Aids research and prevention. The center's first patients begin to receive ARVs. By the end of 1996, 96 patients are on ARVs. 1996-1998: Pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) finances triple therapy research project in partnership with CIRBA. Twenty Ivorian patients are given triple therapy for free to test whether they can handle and follow it. 2004: Today the center is funded one third by research projects it develops, one third by individual donations and one third by fees it charges to patients for laboratory tests. 3,100 HIV positive patients are currently under ARV treatment. The center is equipped with the latest machines to monitor patients' CD4 cell counts and viral loads. CIRBA is currently looking for 30 million CFA (approximately $60,000) to finance a health radio project, whose aim is to reduce stigmatization around HIV/AIDS in Côte d'Ivoire, through AIDS-focused dramas that will relate to people's everyday lives. If you are interested in finding out more about this project, please contact: |
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Interview conducted by freelance journalist Ms. Karie Atkinson. |
