Public Health Director: Qatar Records Lowest Infections with AIDS

Doha, December 01 (QNA) - The State of Qatar records the lowest infections with the HIV/AIDS in the world by only 02.0 percent, Director of the Public Health Department at the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) Dr. Sheikh Mohammad bin Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani said. The total number of AIDS cases in Qatar which has been diagnosed since 1985 until now are 260 infections, half of those infections were among Qatari nationals. In 2010, six new cases of HIV infection were diagnosed, Dr. Sheikh Mohammad Al Thani said in a press conference which the SCH held to mark the World AIDS Day, which falls on December 1. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The Director of Public Health said that Qatar is celebrating with the rest of the world the World AIDS Day which is held this year under the theme: "Stigma and discrimination in health care settings" with the aim to promote awareness and education about the disease and to combat all forms of stigma and discrimination against AIDS patients. He noted that Qatar's celebrations this year is held in cooperation between the Supreme Council of Health, Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar University and the Social Rehabilitation Center. The activities include awareness-raising events and a number of seminars as well as TV and radio shows to talk about the disease and its nature and spread, and the role of family and community in helping people living with HIV. Sheikh Mohammad Al Thani noted that this year marks a decline of 20% of new HIV cases compared to 1997, and new infections are continuing to decline in most parts of the world including Sub-Saharan Africa. The Director of Public Health highlighted the GCC Anti-AIDS initiative which aims at enhancing the opportunities for health cooperation to combat HIV in the Gulf region. He noted that the GCC Health Ministers adopted the initiative launched by Saudi Arabia on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly in Geneva in May last year, aiming to unify the strategy to combat the epidemic and spur countries to deal with AIDS in line with the global trend to combat and control the rate of infection. (QNA)