Mideast has lowest number of HIV cases

GENEVA: According to UNAIDS 2014 Fact sheet, the Middle East and North Africa is the region with the lowest number of people living with HIV. However, the HIV burden is increasing with rising numbers of AIDS-related deaths and new infections in several countries.

“In 2013, there were some 230,000 160,000330,000 adults and children living with HIV in the region and there were an estimated 25,000 14,00041,000 new HIV infections in the region. New HIV infections rose by seven percent between 2005 and 2013,” said Ibon Villelabeitia, Media specialist at the Global Fund against AIDS, TB and malaria in an interview with Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

The average of estimated number of people who died of AIDS-related causes in 2013 is 15,000 10,00021,000 and 15,000 10,000-21,000 people died of AIDS-related causes in the same year. Five countries-Algeria, Iran, Morocco, Somalia and the Sudan-account for 88 percent of these, he said. Iran accounts for 30 percent of all HIV-positive people in the region, with an estimated avarage of 70,000 47,000-110,000 people living with HIV.

In Sudan, there are 49,000 34,000-70,000 people are living with HIV, representing 21 percent of the regional burden. The HIV burden is mainly concentrated among people who inject drugs, migrants, sex workers and men who have sex with men, he explained.

Antiretroviral therapy

According to the Global Fund, the sharp increases in AIDS-related deaths can be attributed in part to the very low levels of access to lifesaving antiretroviral therapy across the region. “Only two countries Djibouti and Morocco provided treatment to 20-40 percent of adults and children living with HIV. In seven of the ten countries in the region, fewer than 20 percent of people living with HIV had access to treatment,” the Global Fund media specialist said.

Currently, 13 countries in the Middle East/North Africa region are benefitting from Global Fund investments and implementing programs to deal with the fight against the three diseases including HIV.

The Global Fund is also investing in building resilient and sustainable systems for health as part of many of these grants. The fight against AIDS, TB and malaria will only be won “if we make health care and health systems affordable, accessible and effective for all those who need it, particularly vulnerable populations who might not have access due to stigma, ability to pay or distance,” said Villelabeitia.

Activities of the Golbal Fund by mid-2015 in the region show that 16,000 People are currently on ARV therapy, 1,400 HIV-positive pregnant women receiving ARV prophylaxis for Prevention from Mother to Child Transmission and 7,800 Basic care and support services provided to orphans and vulnerable children.

The fund dealt with 2,300,000 persons and 2,900,000 people received treatment for sexually transmitted infections. “The global fund is seeking to engage with NGOs in the region as it is recognized they have an important role to play in the implementation of programs, in the communication on the prevention of HIV and in advocacy for political and financial support to address HIV”, said Villelabeitia.

Good example

A good example for the cooperation with global fund and WHO in fighting AIDS is Morocco. Morocco as a low-middle income country has demonstrated important leadership in responding to HIV, particularly in regards to facilitating the meaningful participation of women, civil society and key populations, said the Global Fund. Key populations identify people who experience a greater epidemiological vulnerability to HIV in this case, and may have reduced access to services. They include men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, female sex workers and prisoners.