Tourism Is Not Contributing to Spread of HIV in Zanzibar, Minister Says
The flourishing tourism industry in Zanzibar is not contributing to the spread of HIV on the archipelago, Tourism and Investment Minister Samia Sululu Hassan said on Tuesday, The Citizen reports. Answering a question from Rep. Anaclet Thobias Makunguta about the impact of tourism on HIV/AIDS, Hassan said that recent research conducted by the government has not shown any connection between tourism and the disease. According to Hassan, although research released last year found a link between the growth of the tourism sector and the spread of HIV, the main routes of transmission on Zanzibar are drug use among youth and commercial sex work. She called on legislators to cooperate with the tourism ministry and commission, UNAIDS and the Zanzibar AIDS Commission in providing young people with information about how to avoid contracting HIV (Said, The Citizen, 7/9).
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