சவுதி திருமணங்களில் எய்ட்ஸ் பரிசோதனை கட்டாயமாகிறது

சவுதி அரேபியாவில் கூடா ஒழுக்கம் அதிகரித்துவருவதால், அங்கு எய்ட்ஸூம் அதிகரித்து வருகிறது.

இதனை கட்டுப்படுத்த எல்லா திருமணங்களுக்கு முன்னர், எய்ட்ஸ் பரிசோத்னை கட்டாயம் என்ற சட்டம் கொண்டுவரப்பட இருக்கிறது என்று சவுதி சுகாதாரத் துறை அமைச்சர் கூறினார்

HIV screening to be made must in premarital tests in Saudi
From Habib Shaikh (Our correspondent)

16 July 2007

JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia will soon implement compulsory screening for the HIV virus in pre-marriage medical tests, according to Health Minister Dr Hamad Al Manie.


The measure was a priority recommendation during the Health Marriage Symposium that was held in Riyadh recently. "I have announced at the symposium that the Ministry of Health would implement all the recommendations that result from the event, especially important ones such as the pre-marriage HIV test," Al Manie said. The minister did not give an exact date or more details about the implementation of the new test that would be included with the current compulsory testing for the recessive genes of sickle cell anemia and beta thalasemia, which are more likely to appear in children born of marriage between cousins that both have the recessive genes for these conditions.

Addressing a Press conference during the launch of the first summer health awareness campaign at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Al Manie said that there were 11,510 reported cases of HIV positive patients around the kingdom from 1984 up to 2006 of which 23 per cent were Saudi nationals. The Ministry of Health, the Saudi Arabian Airlines and the General Authority of Civil Aviation organised the campaign jointly.

"According to this figure, the kingdom has the lowest HIV reported cases in the world," he said. The UN’s World Health Organisation has stated that for every reported HIV carrier there are at least nine unreported ones. If this estimation is correct, it means that the announced official figure represents around 10 per cent of the actual HIV cases in the kingdom.

Al Manie attributed the low rate of HIV in the kingdom to the cultural behaviour of the Saudi citizens who follow the rules of Islam. He said that the new campaign held at Jeddah airport would also be held at Riyadh and Dammam international airports.

He added that because of the high air traffic during summer, the campaign would target a high number of people, especially the youth. The summer campaign includes awareness brochures, video presentations and information centres about the sexually-transmitted diseases including HIV. While no figures are available, many in Saudi Arabia believe that sexually-transmitted infections — including Aids and the Hepatitis C — are spread in the kingdom by Saudis (mostly men) who travel abroad, engage in unsafe sex, contract these viruses, and introduce them to others inside the kingdom, especially their wives.