Platform conference, which discussed theregional report on AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa
Abdel Hafez El Sawy - Cairo
Over ten years have seen the Middle East and North Africa increase in the number of people living with HIV (AIDS) of children and adults,until the number reached in 2010 to about 470thousand after it was in the range of 320thousand in 2001, and increased new infections disease AIDS during the sameperiod from 43 thousand in 2001 to 59thousand in 2010, as stated in the first regional report on AIDS in the Middle East and NorthAfrica.
The report highlighted a number of sourceslead to the disease, was led by women to provide sexual services by 40%, followed bydrug use by 20%, then the practices of gaymen by 15%.
The report, prepared by the United Nations Programme on AIDS in conjunction with theWorld Health Organization, the high incidence of mortality among people living with HIV from 22 thousand in 2001 to 35 thousand in 2010,and indicates that between 0.1% and 1% of the women in the Middle East and North Africaworking in the field of sex for money and other goods, and there are about one million use drugs by injection, while the spread of AIDS among gay men in half the countries in the region.
The challenges of the confrontationThe report states that despite the progress in the region to deal with people with AIDS, there is a situation of discrimination practiced by the countries of the region towards those living with AIDS, and practicing the displacement of people living with the disease were not members of some of the countries in the region.
For his part, Director of the Regional Office of WHO for the Middle East Hussein Gezairy, the presence of a range of challenges facing efforts to overcome the increase in injuries the region, including: lack of awareness among the public, especially young people, as well as shortening and ministries of health, countries in the region access to the most injury in order to provideadvice and appropriate treatment, in addition to the absence of a culture of early detection in patients.
He explained that although the Algerian increase the number of people living with HIV and AIDS in the region, these rates is the lowest compared to other regions of the world.
In turn, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health for Preventive Medicine in Saudi Arabia Ziad Memc there is cooperation between the Arab countries to confront AIDS, with emphasis on the existence of recommendations to provide the necessary support for the treatment of the least developed Arab countries in order not to worsen the problem because of the fiscal deficit.
Loose moralAccording to Sheikh Mohammed Abdou (from Al-Azhar scholars) that the spread of AIDS due to matters relating to economic aspects, such as youth unemployment, widespread poverty and the existence of large areas of the void in people's lives, which helped to fill it with pornography through the satellite and the Internet and newspapers.
Sheikh Abdu of the island that such practices lead to the wrong we see the emergence of romantic relationships between middle school students, then the implications of these relationships is negative practices after that.
He called for education reform to evaluate the behavior of community members countries of the region, with a focus on young people occupancy and fill the great void in their lives and to facilitate the marriage of youth and dimension of the culture of waste and excessive costs of marriage.
Source: Al Jazeera
