On the occasion of World AIDS Day, celebrated on December 1, 2025, MONUSCO contingents in Ituri and Beni conducted several awareness-raising activities targeting young people, women's organizations, and local communities. These activities served as a reminder that the virus continues to circulate and that prevention remains a major challenge, as nearly 41 million people are currently living with HIV worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

Breaking taboos, encouraging testing

Dr. Charles Kisamba, from MONUSCO's Medical Section, emphasized the importance of maintaining prevention efforts.

« The danger is still there, HIV/AIDS has not yet been defeated. Let us not relax our vigilance or prevention efforts, as thousands of young people are newly infected each year and others continue to die from AIDS-related complications, particularly in the DRC where this reality is exacerbated by armed conflicts »,he explained.

According to him, ignorance, taboos surrounding STIs, fear of testing, and stigmatization of people living with the virus remain the main obstacles to fighting the disease. He stressed the need to promote voluntary testing, the only gateway to comprehensive treatment, and to combat misconceptions.

At the end of the session, a young participant shared her impressions: "I always believed that sharing a glass or spoon with a person living with HIV could transmit the virus. Thanks to these explanations, I better understand the disease. Many false ideas hinder the fight against HIV. People need to inform themselves to know that it is possible to live normally and for a long time today with the virus," she stated, affirming her intention to share this information with those around her.

Multifaceted commitment from contingents

At the Ndoromo base in Bunia, Drodro in the territory of Djugu, and in Beni, several awareness sessions were conducted on the same day. The message remained consistent: HIV has not disappeared, new infections remain numerous, and hundreds of thousands of people still die from it each year.

Voluntary testing, which is free, confidential, and anonymous, remains one of the most effective ways to protect oneself or access comprehensive treatment that allows for a normal life.

Targeted actions in prisons

The same messages were conveyed to the 1,950 inmates of Bunia's urban prison. MONUSCO's Prison Administration Support Unit, supported by the Medical Section as well as Moroccan and Senegalese contingents, organized awareness-raising followed by voluntary HIV and hepatitis B testing.

With an overcrowding rate approaching 400%, the prison environment constitutes a high-risk setting for the transmission of HIV, other STIs, and tuberculosis. Explanations were provided in the local language through MONUSCO and prison medical staff to facilitate understanding.

More than 300 inmates agreed to be tested free of charge and confidentially following the activity.