The first case of AIDS in Benin was diagnosed in 1985. In a country marked by fragile social and economic development (main sources of income: subsistence farming and cotton), with a high illiteracy rate (particularly among women) and where almost one third of the population lives under the international poverty threshold (US$1.25 a day), this pandemic has exacerbated an already worrying health situation. In the 1980s, less than 30% of the population had access to basic healthcare. The mortality rate for children under five years was one of the highest in the world: 203 deaths for every 1,000 births. Only one mother in three had access to healthcare for children. The situation has improved quite appreciably since then thanks to the Bamako Initiative (Mali), which initiated a system of community healthcare providing more equitable access to services. Expanded to include all fields of health, this reform implemented in several developing countries has made it possible to improve health indicators and the efficacy of healthcare while also reducing costs. In Benin, the public health system counts 574 maternity clinics and 35 infirmaries, with another 32 private maternity clinics. Among these establishments, 313 offer PTME services (prevention of mother-to-child transmission of the HIV/AIDS virus), while 64 are able to offer tritherapy. In 2009, 1,266 pregnant seropositive women benefitted from PTME services.

According to the 2008 UNAIDS report, the 2007 statistics for Benin, which has almost 8.8 million inhabitants, were as follows:

  • 69,000 people with HIV/AIDS
  • 3,300 AIDS-related deaths
  • 38,000 orphans (lacking a father or a mother)
  • 20,000 people (estimate) in need of anti-retroviral therapy
  • 9,800 people (estimate) receiving anti-retroviral therapy.

The fight against HIV/AIDS in Benin is financed as follows:

  • 55 million euros (2007/2011) provided by various partners
  • 15 million euros provided by the government of Benin (direct subsidy from the national budget)
  • 84 million euros, or 39.21% of the country’s total budget to fight HIV/AIDS, committed or already made available by the Global Fund.