Socioeconomic Development Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Morbidity 916. 917. 918. The government has developed a multisector national strategic framework on HIV and AIDS for 2007 to 2011. Its objectives are to identify the main constraints and to get the necessary commitment to achieve the MDGs, specifically to halt and begin to reverse the spread of the epidemic by 2015. The government has intensified its methods of curbing the threat of infections associated with HIV and AIDS by launching a programme on exchanging syringes (exchanging one contaminated syringe for a clean one) so that the virus is no longer transmitted through this method. To create a favourable institutional and legal framework for implementing the programme, the government promulgated the HIV/AIDS Act in 2006. Finally, with the support of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the government recently introduced a programme for treating drug addiction with methadone. Noncommunicable diseases. Today, the greatest health risks are noncommunicable diseases, which account for more than 80 per cent of serious diseases. The most recent study on noncommunicable diseases, conducted in 2004, shows that the prevalence rate of noncommunicable diseases, through diseases like diabetes and hypertension, has increased during the past 10 years. 919. The government has tackled these problems through a series of measures. They include: • • • • 316 HIV and AIDS. There are 3,93852 people currently living with the virus in Mauritius and the prevalence rate among the adult population is estimated at 1.8 per cent. There has been growing concern about the rapid spread of the epidemic in recent years, mainly because of the exchange of contaminated syringes between prisoners and drug addicts. Sensitisation campaigns. Organising full medical tests, including dental tests for primary school children and secondary school students. Programmes for testing for noncommunicable diseases in regional health centres and places of work. Establishing the Mauritian Health Institute and the Belle Rive Medical School. They offer training courses to specialised medical staff in rare disciplines, particularly ophthalmology and 52 - Figure provided by government in May 2010. 920. • • Socioeconomic Development anaesthesia, as well as the ongoing project with the University of Bordeaux for training cardiologists. Establishing a steering committee on biomedical research and technological innovation, under the aegis of the prime minister, to develop a white paper that presents proposals on developing a national service framework for diabetes, metabolic syndromes and other chronic diseases. Parliament’s adoption of a new regulation on tobacco and alcohol consumption in public places in order to protect nonsmokers and discourage using these products. The surveys conducted with stakeholders show that most of the persons interviewed think that the quality of health services needs to be improved considerably. Hospitals should raise their standards in terms of staff, infrastructure and drugs. New and sophisticated equipment should be acquired. More hospitals and dispensaries should be built in both rural and urban areas. Some stakeholders complain about the inadequacy of care, the shortage of qualified medical staff, poor treatment from doctors and midwives, and even that doctors and midwives do not attend to their patients, except when it comes to their pockets. Education 921. The 2005 Education Act increased the age for compulsory schooling from 12 to 16 years. The gross enrolment rate was 95 per cent for nurseries, 102 per cent for primary schools and 69 per cent for secondary schools in 2006. The ratios for girls were 95 per cent, 101 per cent and 72 per cent respectively. 922. In higher education, total enrolment in publicly funded institutions (such as tertiary education institutions and others), private providers/ distance education providers and overseas institutions amounted to 33,230 students in 2006. This is the equivalent of a third of the population aged between 20 and 24 years engaged in part-time, fulltime or distance education studies. The government is in the process of creating the Open University of Mauritius to conform to the policy of democratising and extending access to higher education. 317