The official ceremony took place on Friday November 28, 2013 in Yaounde.
HIV/AIDS continues to remain a major health danger in society and the National Gendarmerie is not left out. Health statistics reveal that the National Gendarmerie has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate (7 per cent) in the national Armed Forces.
It is in this light that a District Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) Unit for the National Gendarmerie was inaugurated at the Gendarmerie Training Centre in Yaounde on Friday, November 29, 2013. Speaking at the occasion, the Secretary of State of Defence in charge of the National Gendarmerie, Jean Baptiste Bokam, said the inauguration of the unit showed the willingness of the hierarchy to fight against the lethal disease which has devastating effects not only in the gendarmerie but also at the family, social and economic levels.
He called on the staff of the ART unit to propose measures aimed at intensifying sensitisation campaigns in the gendarmerie corps to change the attitudes and daily sexual behaviours of staff. The ART unit for gendarmerie is also in charge of counselling gendarmes living with HIV/AIDS. To this, Jean Baptiste Bokam reminded the staff of ART unit to give to all gendarmes living with HIV/AIDS their time, attention and the necessary respect.
The ART Unit has as objective to provide psycho-social support to infected staff and to prevent transmission of HIV by encouraging and promoting good behaviour.
