யேமனில் பரவும் எய்ட்ஸ் நோய் பற்றி மாநாடு

சவுதி அரேபியா யேமன் ஆகிய நாடுகளில் பரவும் எய்ட்ஸ் நோய் மக்களது உதாசீனத்தால் பரவுகிறது என்று கூறுகிறார் மருத்துவர். இதனை எதிர்கொள்ள மாநாடு நடத்தப்படுகிறது.

AIDS needs more attention in Yemen
Posted in: Reports
Written By: Thuria Ghaleb
Article Date: Sep 1, 2007 - 3:48:16 AM
Major conference scheduled in Aden

Dr. Jamil al-Mughales works in Saudi Arabia, but he still tries to help his home country, Yemen.

Yemen is still greatly lacking in AIDS education, and the facilities needed to treat patients, said Dr. Jamil Abdul-Wali Raweh al-Mughales, the Head of Clinical Immunology Services in the Immunology Department of the medical center at the King Abdulaziz University hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. While the disease has not reached epidemic proportions in this country, care must be taken now to prevent the spread of the disease.

Al-Mughales, a Yemeni working in Saudi Arabia, also works as a consultant diagnostic immunologist. He is expected to preside over a major medical conference in Aden this year. It will address myriad issues related to HIV and AIDS in Yemen, and the health system in Yemen.

The Yemen Observer recently met him to find out more about AIDS research and how the disease is affecting Yemen.

Yemen Observer: Dr. Jamil, as the Head of the Clinical Immunology Services in the medical center supervised by the King Abdulaziz University, could you tell us a little bit about this center?

Dr. Jamil al-Mughales: This center is a big medical center supervised by the King Abdulaziz University hospital. The center has huge facilities in different medical fields, including surgical fields. It also works in research and teaching. Moreover, we have different activities outside this center. We contribute, along with other medical centers in Saudi Arabia, to teaching, research, and consultation in the surgical or medical fields. We also have a connection with various hospitals in the United States and Canada. From such countries, some consultants are invited to visit our center just to see some cases, and many medical students are sent to get some experience in the United States and Canada. Also, we do have some cooperation here in Yemen, with our center helping doctors and medical students to improve their experience and get a chance to come over to Saudi Arabia to get short training in different fields. To make this cooperation strong, we do some medical conferences here in Yemen. Until now, we have done two big medical conferences in Sana’a and Taiz governorates. Insha’a Allah, we will have another one in Aden.

YO: What are the goals in creating such conferences?
Dr. J.A: The aim of these conferences is just to create cooperation between our medical center and the various Yemeni medical facilities and centers. We also want to give our experience to our brothers in Yemen. Such things work to improve medical training, diagnosis and the educational system in Yemen.

YO: Could you tell us about the upcoming conference in Aden? What will happen at this conference?
Dr. J.A: Regarding the future conference, as I told you before, we are planning, Insha’a Allah, by the end of November this year to organize a huge conference. We can call it a big conference or a Gulf-Yemeni one. It will concentrate on different fields of medicine. We are planning to discuss various important topics, such as AIDS, cancer, immuno-deficiency, auto-immune diseases, and tuberculosis in Yemen. Strategies between the Gulf area countries and Yemen about how to prevent the spread of infectious diseases among countries will also be discussed, to come up with some effective solutions. There will be also many workshops in different fields of medicine, especially the recent important medical research and findings.

YO: How will this conference differ from the previous ones?
Dr. J.A: This is a good point. We are trying in each conference to add new information on some special topics to be elaborated and discussed. The previous conferences were very good ones, especially the Taiz one, where the audience included more than 1,000 people. We are planning at this conference to have more than 50 highly qualified professors from the Gulf, in addition to different qualified professors from Yemen. During the days specialized for this conference, as usual, we will not only concentrate on the educational aspect, but our friends will visit some hospitals to see some difficult cases. We will organize times for expert consultants to visit, to diagnose, and to follow up such cases. These conferences are not only for lectures and workshops.

YO: Regarding AIDS, to what extent do you think such a conference could be helpful in finding effective solutions to this problem?
Dr. J.A: Unfortunately, the problem of AIDS does not receive enough support in Yemen, though it has become a very important issue in this country. There are more than 300,000 immigrants from Africa, adding a dangerous burden to the main problem of AIDS in Yemen. Moreover, as you know, the health system in Yemen is not really strong enough to support the AIDS strategies in such a country. So, we will try in the upcoming conference to discuss such problems and make what we can do for the AIDS strategies.

YO: Establishing such conferences needs huge support, so do you receive any kind of support from any people or companies?
Dr. J.A: Our conferences have always been supported by some generous people, such as the Hail Saeed Group of Companies and Alesai Group of Companies in Saudi Arabia. They are really supporting us with generosity; they gave us as much as we want just to support our aim and our organization for these conferences. So we have no problem with money, we will try to do our best to make such conferences and to discuss so many topics as much as we can.

YO: Do you think there is an accurate report of the number of AIDS cases in Yemen?
Dr. J.A: Until now, unfortunately, the health system does not give an exact number of people infected with HIV/AIDS. They still just keep saying we have only 2,000 or 3,000 cases, but there are more cases. If you find or diagnose one case, there are about ten cases missing. So, it is difficult to find out the exact number of people infected with HIV/AIDS in Yemen. In Yemen, we really need a strong cooperation between the different authorities, such as the Ministry of Public Health and Population, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Education and also the media. AIDS in Yemen still needs a lot of support from the different sources—not only the Ministry of Health—to control this problem. In Yemen, we need educational activities to guide people so they know what they can do, and how they can prevent or protect themselves from such a disease.

YO: Could you estimate the number of AIDS cases in Yemen?
Dr. J.A: We cannot estimate how many people are infected with HIV/AIDS in Yemen, but there are many cases. Yemeni people still need more centers in the different governorates, such as Taiz, Sana’a and Aden, to evaluate, to diagnose, to follow up, and to monitor this problem.

YO: How does the situation of AIDS in Yemen compare to the situation in Saudi Arabia?
Dr. J.A: The situation of AIDS in Yemen and in Saudi Arabia may be the same. Thank God, this problem is still not a big problem, but we should pay more attention to the future. Especially Yemen, because it is open for so many people coming to Yemen. We do not know their health problems and their background, especially regarding AIDS. I am afraid of it will be a big problem in the future. The Yemeni authorities should cooperate on trying to make a national strategy or a policy to prevent the spread of such disease in future.

YO: Could you compare the situation of AIDS in the two neighboring countries regarding the medical facilities and the people’s educational level?
Dr. J.A: This is actually a good point. Regarding the medical facilities of the two countries, this is a different issue. Saudi Arabia has huge financial resources to fight against this problem. But, unfortunately, the strategies in Yemen need more money, more training, and more human resources. But if you compare the people’s educational level in the two countries regarding this disease, it is the same. I cannot say that Saudi people have a good or excellent awareness regarding this disease—they need more. In all Arab countries, the education is still weak and the media is also weak, I do not know why, in discussing such issues. So, the two countries need more and continuous education in schools, universities and public places, not only on some programs on TV, or in limited articles in some newspapers. People in foreign countries, such as the United States and Canada, succeeded in decreasing the number of cases infected with HIV/AIDS because they take this problem seriously. In Yemen, there are so many hospitals but this is quantity without quality.

YO: How is HIV and AIDS most commonly spread in Yemen?
Dr. J.A: As I told you before, this estimation about the spread of AIDS in Yemen is still not that much. Now, there are many cases, but we cannot see AIDS in Yemen as an epidemic disease. Some people in Yemen deny that they have AIDS, which is a problem. So if we do not have good support, good strategies and good facilities, there will be a big problem in the near future—not only AIDS, but also other infectious diseases. That’s why I am trying just to discuss this issue with different important persons in different areas in Yemen.

YO: What do you think can be done to prevent this disease from spreading in Yemen?
Dr. J.A: To prevent the spread of this disease in Yemen, we have to do many things. The first of all, we need to have an intensive education starting in the elementary schools. There should be also intensive education for people in schools, universities, and for people working in the various areas, such as companies. Just to give them a little information about HIV/AIDS. The second step is to have a policy regarding the intensive immigration. The third one, Yemen should have facilities with very good technology. The media also, I think, plays a very important role in educating people about this disease. Islamic principles are very good at helping people to protect themselves from such diseases. We also need cooperation with other countries to support these effective steps in Yemen, and to benefit from the different experiences.

YO: What kind of treatments are available for patients in Yemen?
Dr. J.A: HIV treatment is not only one or two kinds. There are so many techniques and medicines for HIV in Yemen; I got that information from the National Program to Combat AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Some people think that AIDS is not a dangerous disease because there is a treatment for it. But the available treatments are just working to decrease the virus in the body blood and give an infected person more time to live. These treatments do not really lead the patient to be cured from the virus. If the patient stops taking these medicines, the virus will again come and cause problems for the patient. The most dangerous thing here in Yemen is that some people claim that they have treatments and medicines for HIV/AIDS just to make people come and spend a lot of money to get such medicines. The Ministry of Public Health and Population and the program of AIDS should keep supervision on such people, and guide patients to the right way.

YO: In a country as conservative as Yemen, what do you think are the challenges in addressing this disease?
Dr. J.A: I can give you the challenges in addressing such disease in Yemen, depending on my observation. The medical facilities and education are still weak. The coordination between the different authorities in Yemen to fight against this disease is good, but such coordination needs more to reach the required level. The most important thing in these challenges is the need for facilities that should be available, with good technology.

YO: How can we encourage infected people to come forward to receive treatment, given that may be too ashamed?
Dr. J.A: In all Arab countries, not only in Yemen, people look at the person infected with HIV/AIDS as a criminal. But infected people should normally live as others do, and he should be treated as a respected person. He can do what he wants, but he should know how to protect others from infecting them with this disease. He should make every effort to prevent spreading this disease among others.

YO: Why have you chosen to work in Saudi Arabia instead of Yemen, especially given that you know that Yemeni people need highly qualified doctors such as yourself?
Dr. J.A: I am not living here in Yemen, but believe me my heart and mind are still in Yemen. When I came back from the UK to Yemen, I managed to establish a huge center, like those which are available in Saudi Arabia now. But I did not find the possibilities supporting me in establishing such a center. The most beautiful thing is to work in your field with good possibilities. Until now, there is not a center or even a department specialized in the immune system in the whole of Yemen. I now try to establish such a center, or even help the authority to establish such a center. I will return to Yemen Insha’a Allah in the near future.

YO: After this conference, what are your future plans to help Yemen battle AIDS?
Dr. J.A: Insha’a Allah, I will try to make short workshops between the upcoming conferences, and help doctors and medical students to come over to Saudi Arabia to have some training. Our friends will work with us to go to Yemen, and receive some difficult cases to be cured. The most important goal is to establish a center for the immunology field.

YO: What is your impression of health conditions in Yemen overall?
Dr. J.A: If you look back 20 years ago, the health system in Yemen has become very good, but if you compare such a system with others in the Gulf area countries, the Yemeni health system needs more work.

YO: What are the most interesting and important findings in research about HIV/AIDS?
Dr. J.A: The scientists are working to achieve a vaccination for such a disease, and there are so many medical centers working for the same goal. They are competing with each other to find a very good effective and protective vaccine. But, unfortunately, they cannot make such a vaccine, though there is much data and information. The scientists have had a number of good results with a new treatment that will be very good to help many patients, especially pregnant women.