HIV/AIDS and the problem of care in Côte d'Ivoire

The aim of our work is to identify and understand the problems affecting HIV/AIDS care in Côte d'Ivoire. To achieve this objective, we conducted a survey from August to December 2004 involving 284 patients, 190 at SMIT and 94 at CIRBA. The thesis reveals that the medical dimension alone cannot satisfy HIV carriers; consequently, it shows that the social, cultural and psychological dimensions of care are indispensable for the good health of HIV carriers. In this way, the problem of PLHIV is posed at two levels: 1) the nature of therapists' management of the disease, and 2) the quality of relations between PLHIV and society as a whole. Ultimately, this thesis is a recommendation for a comprehensive, non-sectarian response to the issue of HIV/AIDS in Côte d'Ivoire.