According to several researchers (Dr. Josef Decosas, director of the Regional AIDS Program, Accra, Ghana; Dr. F. Kane, Center of International Cooperation, Health and Development, Abidjan, Ivory Coast; J. K. Anarfi, University of Ghana; K. D. R. Sodji, Action Force for the Improved Well-Being of Mother and Child, Togo; and Dr. H. U. Wagner, Division of Health, Population and Nutrition, Eschborn, Germany), although human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) spreads faster among migrant workers than among those in settled communities in Africa, governments should not crack down on them. The scientists blame the higher rate of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) among migrant workers on prostitutes who patronize the workers separated from their families. Their opinion piece, which was published in The Lancet, cites statistics from several studies. In a study of 5000 Ugandans, the rate of HIV infection among people who never moved was 5.5%; among those who moved to a different village, the rate was 12.4%. Similar findings occurred in a study in Senegal. Fear that the government would deport migrant workers if the situation was described has led to silence on the part of researchers; instead, the authors of this essay have suggested educating the migrants to practice safe sex and avoid prostitutes. Dr. Robert Shope, an infectious disease expert and professor of pathology at University of Texas Medical Branch, believes this approach will be unsuccessful and states that molecular studies, which track a particular strain of HIV, are necessary to prove conclusively that migrant workers are spreading the disease.

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