First HIV Cases Reported on Marshall Islands and Vanuatu

The Marshall Islands and Vanuatu each have reported their first HIV cases, Agence France-Presse reports. HIV infections have been reported in one person on Ebeye Island in the Marshall Islands and one person in Vanuatu, two countries that had previously claimed to have no HIV infections (Agence France-Presse, 9/26). Vanuatu Prime Minister Edward Natapei said that tribal chiefs and community leaders throughout the country are being urged to promote HIV awareness and educate the public about the risk of multiple sexual partners. Vanuatu is a group of 80 small islands with a population of 200,000 (Associated Press, 9/26). Ebeye Island has a population of 11,000. The news of the HIV infections in the two nations appears to make Tuvalu the last country to have no reported HIV cases, although Tuvalu does not have extensive testing procedures (Agence France-Presse, 9/26).