Meeting addresses social attitudes to HIV/AIDS

Feb 24, 2005

AMMAN (JT) - Fighting social stigmas surrounding Aids victims in the region is essential to encourage women living with the disease to speak out about their struggles and needs, participants said at the first UNAIDS regional meeting on "Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS." "It is not a question of resources and funds, it is a political and social problem ... officials are not revealing the extent of the problem, and the community does not talk openly about it," said Suman Mehta, UNAIDS associate director in Asia and the Middle East. The three-day meeting brought together participants and experts from 21 Arab countries involved in HIV/AIDS to discuss and identify effective prevention strategies for women and girls. "Low prevalence in the region should not be an excuse for inaction... all countries start with a low prevalence but then it grows out of proportion," said Mehta. In her opening address on Monday, HRH Princess Basma said now was the time to take "quick and strategic action" to protect our future generations against the threat of HIV/AIDS. The Princess expressed hope that the meeting would help confront the many challenges that are brought about by the spread of the epidemic. Such challenges include misconceptions, fear and lack of awareness. World Health Organisation (WHO) figures show that two thirds of 15-24 year-olds affected by the disease are adolescent girls and almost 50 per cent of the 37 million adults with HIV\AIDS globally are women. Figures on HIV/AIDS from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region show that 540,000 people are currently living with the disease. UNAIDS experts argue that even though the figure is relatively low, the epidemic is a growing problem. "This meeting should result in creating strong partnerships and networks to address the epidemic in the region and openly tackle the many region specific issues that could jeopardise us and our sisters," said Maha Eladawy, MENA director of the reproductive health and rights programme, Ford Foundation. In his opening remarks, Minister of Health Saeed Darwazeh said that it is the governments' responsibility to fight the epidemic. "Ministries of health and education should have comprehensive educational and awareness programmes for the young generation." In Jordan, the Ministry of Health has compiled a book for adolescents providing information about the disease but it is yet to be included in the school curricula. "We have all the resources, yet we need to be courageous and visionary," Darwazeh added. This initiative was co-funded by the Ford Foundation Middle East and North Africa Office, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)/Arab World Regional Office; and the UNAIDS Secretariat Inter-country team Middle East and North Africa, according to a UN statement.