Got AIDS? (Ethiopia)

That was the question on my mind when I returned home after visiting 15 countries in the course of 5 months and a half. I even went to a hospital in Taiwan to check whether I had contracted the feared epidemic, not to mention my diarrheal and skin conditions that were caused by months of rough walking, eating street food, sleeping on the street/in dodgy hostels, and taking bumpy bus rides.

So what was all this about?

In September 2007, I traveled in Sudan with a South African couple on a Land Cruiser and then backpacked solo across Ethiopia, both malaria-endemic regions. I was stung by a gazillion mosquitoes first in Khartoum and later in the flooded South Sudan, having to worry constantly whether I had taken enough malarial pills and insect repellent to avert a potential death-inducing catastrophe. But I didn't feel nauseous on the scale that travelers had described to me. Moreover, I never expected Ethiopia to pose a similar level of malarial risk as its neighbouring Sudan. Accordingly, I took my guard off once I crossed borders from the Islamist "pariah state" into the oldest Christian land on the continent.

Ethiopia, at least its highlands region, is arguably the safest country in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of malaria exposure. Because the majority of Northern cities and villages are located on altitudes above 2,000, the resulting temperate climate is not conducive to mosquito habitation. Even the mosquitoes that do exist are considered safe, so malaria is not, as far as travelers are concerned, a serious problem.

In Addis Ababa, I became seriously sick for the first time in 3 months. Initially, I thought I had caught a flu, but the condition worsened day after day. After hours searching for a clinic in the Piazza on my second visit to Addis, I eventually came across one that would provide blood tests for malaria. But my somewhat zealously Ethiophile guidebook didn't prepare me for what was about to happen.

The clinical doctor utilized a rather rudimentary needle to extract my blood sample; it appeared that the needle was not even new as there was no prepackaging, although it could have been sanitised. As I awaited in another room for test results, Indian-made giant posters advertised detailed information on safe sex, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancies, and so forth....It finally dawned upon me that this was a specialty clinic for AIDS/HIV, and not just an average clinic.

A nurse came to say that I was not malaria positive. But instead of acquiring a peace of mind, I could not extricate myself from the spectre of having traded for something far more deadly.

Ethiopia has a serious prevalence of HIV and prostitution. According to Ethiopian government health statistics in 2002, the HIV prevalence rate in the capital was as high as 15%. While Ethiopia is the second largest African country with a population of 77 million, its incidence of HIV is also high relative to its size. It is estimated that 2 million adults and 200,000 children suffer from HIV/AIDS, and the majority of the infected age groups are below 30--people who form the backbone of the national economy. The issue is so severe that the government has launched highly visible campaigns to promote safe sex, condom use, and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. Clinics treating AIDS patients have also mushroomed up in many major cities, even spreading beyond provincial capitals to remote towns and villages.

Friends once related to me that while Ethiopian women are the world's stunning beauties, one should take "proper precaution" when befriending them. Although their joke may sound crude and lack political correctness, it is true that AIDS and the dearth of medical services are heart-wrenching issues that have wreaked havoc on communities, leading to the breakup of families and dashed hopes for children and young adults my age who may never live to see a brighter future.

I am fortunate. I will probably never see this situation happen to myself and my loved ones, simply because I am privileged to have resided in the right place at the right time.