சவுதி அரேபியாவில் எய்ட்ஸால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டவர்களுக்கு உரிமைகளை மீட்டெடுபப்தற்காக கொண்டுவரப்பட்ட சட்டத்தை ஊன்றி படித்தால், அது எய்ட்ஸ் மிகவும் அதிகமாக பரவுவதற்கே வழி செய்யும் என்று மனித உரிமை கமிஷன் கூறியுள்ளது.
அரசாங்கம் 10,000 பேர்களே பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கிறார்கள் என்று கூறுகிறது. ஆனால், மருத்துவர்களோ சுமார் 80 ஆயிரம் பேருக்கு மேல் பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கலாம் என்று கூறுகிறார்கள்.
Saudi move on HIV/AIDS will make the epidemic worse
by Joe Amon
Published in SaudiDebate.com
October 24, 2007
The Saudi Arabian National Society for Human Rights recently published a bill of rights for people infected with HIV. The 16 articles in the bill seek to protect the rights of those living with HIV while advancing the kingdom's response to the epidemic.
However, on closer examination, the bill comprises repressive restrictions that trample upon the rights of people living with HIV and can only hinder an effective response to the epidemic. The bill presents a veneer of protection in one phrase, before taking it away in the next. It violates rights of confidentiality and informed consent and provides for arbitrary detention. It fails to ensure the right to nondiscrimination and equal protection of the law. And ultimately, it represents a strategy against AIDS that is doomed to fail.
For example, Article Two of the bill establishes a national centre for AIDS. But it goes on to dictate that all doctors in the government and the private sector "are required to transfer persons suspected or infected by the virus" to the centre. Instead of building a broad base of care to those infected with HIV, the requirement to transfer all patients to one national centre will serve to erode confidentiality and thereby result in restricting access to treatment by those who fear exposure.
Article Three proclaims that it is prohibited for a physician to disclose the HIV status of a patient without their consent. But if the patient refuses to consent, "a statement shall be taken and raised to the [appropriate] body". A "special medical body" is empowered to examine persons suspected of carrying the virus, even when individuals refuse to consent to the examination.
Article Four obliges the Ministry of Health to screen travelers for HIV when coming from "proven [areas] with an AIDS outbreak" and all foreigners seeking to reside in the kingdom. Such screening is contrary to current international health regulations signed by Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the 2006 UN International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights state that: "HIV screening of international travelers is discriminatory and cannot be justified by public health concerns."
Article Five empowers a "specialized medical committee" with ordering "those infected with HIV" into quarantine, if necessary under guards provided by the Ministry of Interior. Yet, the routine quarantine of people living with HIV is wholly unjustified on medical grounds or for HIV prevention. The 2006 International Guidelines are clear that "people [should] not be subjected to coercive measures such as isolation, detention or quarantine on the basis of their HIV status. Where the liberty of persons living with HIV is restricted, due process protection should be guaranteed."
Articles Six through Sixteen contain similarly contradictory and counterproductive measures, none of which will lead to greater protection from discrimination or greater respect and dignity for those living with HIV.
The number of people living with HIV in Saudi Arabia is unknown. The government estimates more than 10,000 people have HIV; UNAIDS and WHO say the data is too uncertain to even guess; some physicians have estimated that as many as 80,000 people may be infected.
What is certain is that unless Saudi Arabia guarantees basic protections - access to treatment, confidentiality and informed consent, and freedom from discrimination - the epidemic will get worse as individuals living with HIV, at risk to the disease, or afraid that they may be infected, are driven away from the information and services they need.
Legislation such as the sixteen articles proposed by the Saudi Arabian National Society for Human Rights is based upon the idea that the AIDS epidemic affects "other" people: people whose rights can freely be violated to protect the rest of us. But if there is one thing that has been learned in the twenty-five years since AIDS was discovered it is that if you think of AIDS in terms of "us" and "them", the disease will spread. Only by strengthening human rights for everyone can AIDS be defeated.
Showing posts with label எய்ட்ஸ். Show all posts
Showing posts with label எய்ட்ஸ். Show all posts
Monday, November 12, 2007
சவுதி அரேபியாவில் எய்ட்ஸால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டவர்களுக்கு மனித உரிமை பாதுகாப்பு சட்டம்
இவ்வளவு காலம் கழித்து, எய்ட்ஸால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டவர்களும் மனிதர்கள்தான் என்று உணர்ந்துகொண்ட சவுதி அரேபிய அரசாங்கம் அவர்கள்து உரிமைகளை பாதுகாக்க சட்டம் இயற்றியுள்ளது.
வரவேற்போம்
Law to Protect Rights of HIV-Infected
Raid Qusti, Arab News
RIYADH, 28 October 2007 — Saudi Arabia is preparing a national AIDS program that will ensure the protection of rights of AIDS patients and give them the same rights as others to education, health, social activities and employment. The program will also ensure that people with the HIV virus will not be discriminated against in government and nongovernment institutions because of their condition.
Officials from The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) and a representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) met yesterday to prepare the initial draft for the new program’s guidelines. Upon completion, it will be submitted to the minister of health who will then submit it to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for final approval and implementation. A copy of the program will also be sent to the UNDP in order to be officially recognized as Saudi Arabian law.
According to the NSHR president, Bandar Al-Hajjar, the rights group began gathering ideas a year ago. The decision was taken because Saudi Arabia currently does not have a law in which the rights of people with the HIV virus are protected.
The sources of the national program are based on Islam and the international agreements signed by Saudi Arabia in the field of human rights. Among the key features of the program is the establishment of a “national center” which will have many branches. The center will have the responsibility of gathering data on AIDS in the Kingdom and will also be responsible for providing medical treatment to persons with AIDS.
The guidelines are to protect AIDS patients’ privacy as no doctor or medical personnel will be allowed to inform persons or other medical institutions of the patient’s condition without his authorization.The program specifies that medical institutions or medical personnel must provide emergency admission to the AIDS patient if and when necessary.
Another provision of the proposed law requires that the spouse of the HIV-infected person be informed immediately by medical personnel if certain symptoms appear and he/she refuses to undergo a medical test.
வரவேற்போம்
Law to Protect Rights of HIV-Infected
Raid Qusti, Arab News
RIYADH, 28 October 2007 — Saudi Arabia is preparing a national AIDS program that will ensure the protection of rights of AIDS patients and give them the same rights as others to education, health, social activities and employment. The program will also ensure that people with the HIV virus will not be discriminated against in government and nongovernment institutions because of their condition.
Officials from The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) and a representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) met yesterday to prepare the initial draft for the new program’s guidelines. Upon completion, it will be submitted to the minister of health who will then submit it to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for final approval and implementation. A copy of the program will also be sent to the UNDP in order to be officially recognized as Saudi Arabian law.
According to the NSHR president, Bandar Al-Hajjar, the rights group began gathering ideas a year ago. The decision was taken because Saudi Arabia currently does not have a law in which the rights of people with the HIV virus are protected.
The sources of the national program are based on Islam and the international agreements signed by Saudi Arabia in the field of human rights. Among the key features of the program is the establishment of a “national center” which will have many branches. The center will have the responsibility of gathering data on AIDS in the Kingdom and will also be responsible for providing medical treatment to persons with AIDS.
The guidelines are to protect AIDS patients’ privacy as no doctor or medical personnel will be allowed to inform persons or other medical institutions of the patient’s condition without his authorization.The program specifies that medical institutions or medical personnel must provide emergency admission to the AIDS patient if and when necessary.
Another provision of the proposed law requires that the spouse of the HIV-infected person be informed immediately by medical personnel if certain symptoms appear and he/she refuses to undergo a medical test.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
கிறிஸ்துவத்தால் தென்னமெரிக்காவில் எய்ட்ஸ் வேகமாக பரவுகிறது
தென் அமெரிக்காவில் வெகுவேகமாக எய்ட்ஸ் பரவுவதற்கு கிறிஸ்துவமே காரணம் என்ற் ஐ.நா குறை கூறியுள்ளது.
ஆணுரை அணிவதை கத்தோலிக்க கிறிஸ்துவம் தடைசெய்வதால், ஏராளமானவர்கள் ஆணுரை கிடைக்காததாலும், ஆணுரை அணிய தடை இருப்பதாலும், பாதுகாப்பற்ற செக்ஸ் காரணமாக ஏராளமானவர்கள் எய்ட்ஸ நோயால் பாதிக்கப்பட போப்பாண்டவர் காரணமாகியுள்ளார் என்று கூறியுள்ளனர்
Catholic condom ban helping AIDS spread in Latam: U.N.
Tue Oct 23, 2:31 AM ET
TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The rapid spread in Latin America of the virus that causes AIDS is made worse by the Roman Catholic Church's stand against using condoms, a U.N. official said on Monday.
Some 1.7 million people across Latin America are infected with the HIV virus or full-blown AIDS, and the epidemic is spreading swiftly with up to 410,000 new cases in 2006, up from as many as 320,000 new cases in 2004, according the UN AIDS program, UNAIDS.
"In Latin America the use of condoms has been demonized, but if they were used in every relation I guarantee the epidemic would be resolved in the region," said Alberto Stella, the UNAIDS Coordinator for Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
The Catholic Church, which holds sway in Latin America despite the rise in evangelical churches, opposes all forms of contraception and instead promotes abstinence as a way to avoid spreading AIDS.
"The fact young people start to be sexually active between 15 and 19 without sex education contributes to the spreading of the virus, as well as the fact that the evidence shows abstinence is not working," Stella told Reuters.
Latin America is home to nearly half the world's 1.1 billion Catholics, but the Church's position on premarital sex and contraception often clashes with modern values. Brazil, the region's largest Catholic nation, regularly distributes free condoms to try and bring down HIV infection rates.
ஆணுரை அணிவதை கத்தோலிக்க கிறிஸ்துவம் தடைசெய்வதால், ஏராளமானவர்கள் ஆணுரை கிடைக்காததாலும், ஆணுரை அணிய தடை இருப்பதாலும், பாதுகாப்பற்ற செக்ஸ் காரணமாக ஏராளமானவர்கள் எய்ட்ஸ நோயால் பாதிக்கப்பட போப்பாண்டவர் காரணமாகியுள்ளார் என்று கூறியுள்ளனர்
Catholic condom ban helping AIDS spread in Latam: U.N.
Tue Oct 23, 2:31 AM ET
TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The rapid spread in Latin America of the virus that causes AIDS is made worse by the Roman Catholic Church's stand against using condoms, a U.N. official said on Monday.
Some 1.7 million people across Latin America are infected with the HIV virus or full-blown AIDS, and the epidemic is spreading swiftly with up to 410,000 new cases in 2006, up from as many as 320,000 new cases in 2004, according the UN AIDS program, UNAIDS.
"In Latin America the use of condoms has been demonized, but if they were used in every relation I guarantee the epidemic would be resolved in the region," said Alberto Stella, the UNAIDS Coordinator for Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
The Catholic Church, which holds sway in Latin America despite the rise in evangelical churches, opposes all forms of contraception and instead promotes abstinence as a way to avoid spreading AIDS.
"The fact young people start to be sexually active between 15 and 19 without sex education contributes to the spreading of the virus, as well as the fact that the evidence shows abstinence is not working," Stella told Reuters.
Latin America is home to nearly half the world's 1.1 billion Catholics, but the Church's position on premarital sex and contraception often clashes with modern values. Brazil, the region's largest Catholic nation, regularly distributes free condoms to try and bring down HIV infection rates.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
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.
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.
Friday, July 06, 2007
சவுதி அரேபியாவில் 80000 பேர் எய்ட்ஸால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளனர்
சவுதி அரேபியாவில் 80000 பேர்கள் எய்ட்ஸால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கிறார்கள். ஆனால் சவுதி அரசாங்கம், எண்ணிக்கையைச் சொன்னால், கேவலம் என்று நினைத்து ஆயிரம் பேர்தான் எய்ட்ஸால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கிறார்கள் என்று பொய் சொல்லுகிறது என்று சவுதி மருத்துவர்கள் அரசாங்கத்தை குறை கூறுகிறார்கள்.
சவுதி மக்கள் தொகை 27 மில்லியனாகும். அதாவது 0.33 சதவீதத்தினர் எய்ட்ஸால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளார்கள். இது இந்தியாவில் எய்ட்ஸால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளவர்களின் சதவீதத்தை விட அதிகமானது ஆகும்.
இந்தியாவில் 5 லட்சம் எய்ட்ஸ் நோயாளிகளின் எண்ணிக்கையிலிருந்து 3 லட்சமாக குறைந்துள்ளது. இது 0.03 சதவீதமாகும். ஆகவே சவுதி அரேபியாவில் இந்தியாவில் இருப்பதைவிட 10 மடங்கு அதிகமாக சவுதி அரேபியாவில் எய்ட்ஸ் பரவியுள்ளது.
ஒழுக்க சீர்கேட்டில் வாழும் மக்கள் திருந்தி, எய்ட்ஸ் அணுகாதவாறு குடும்ப வாழ்வு வாழ்ந்து நல்வழி பெற விரும்புவோம்.
Saudi Arabia Begins to Face Hidden AIDS Problem
By HASSAN M. FATTAH
Published: August 8, 2006
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia —He lives virtually in hiding, his real life a secret from his family and some of his closest friends.
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Rami al-Harithi, infected with H.I.V. in surgery, is a public advocate in ways that homosexuals cannot be.
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Abdullah al-Hokail, a doctor at the country’s top AIDS treatment center, appears on TV regularly to explain the disease and preach safe sex.
Being gay in Saudi Arabia is hard enough. But for a growing number of Saudis like Feisal, middle-aged, gay and H.I.V.-positive, life is a tangle of regret and fear.
“You live in constant fear of being found out and attacked,” said Feisal, who spoke on condition that only his middle name be used, for fear of discrimination. “I’m sure a lot of people would think I deserve what I have if they knew about it.”
If not for a mixture of Saudi doctors, social workers and advocates for AIDS patients who have pushed the government to tackle the disease more openly and encouraged patients to fight for their rights, Feisal’s situation would be even more dire. But change is slowly taking place.
For years Saudi Arabia kept its growing AIDS problem hidden. Statistics on the disease were sealed in envelopes and guarded like national secrets. In mosques, imams spoke of AIDS as the “wrath of God” brought upon people who committed “sexual deviancy.”
Now, the government is opening up. In June, the Ministry of Health announced that more than 10,000 people in Saudi Arabia were H.I.V.-positive or had AIDS, including nearly 600 children. The numbers appear to show a significant increase in infection over 2004, when 7,800 cases were reported, and 2003, when 6,700 cases were reported.
Officials say that better reporting is the reason for the growing numbers. But many doctors say even the latest figures are off, with the real numbers likely to be far higher in this nation of 27 million people. One physician who has treated many patients who have been hiding their condition or were unaware of it estimated that the real number could be as high as 80,000.
Some years back, the government passed legislation protecting the privacy of people who were ill and guaranteeing their right to work, which provided some protection to AIDS patients. Saudi citizens with AIDS have also long had the right to free medical care, and today receive expensive anti-retroviral drugs without charge.
But the rights and protections are only for Saudi citizens. More than three-quarters of the reported H.I.V. cases are of foreign residents. Foreigners living here found to be H.I.V.-positive are typically imprisoned and then deported.
Fortunately for Feisal, he is a Saudi citizen. “I have to praise the government,” he said. “We get the drugs for free, the medical care for free, and the treatment is confidential.”
But Feisal said that nothing is being done to build acceptance of people with AIDS, much less homosexuality.
Indeed, the lingering challenge for most AIDS patients is their acceptance by society. Ever since the first case was diagnosed here in 1984, the disease has challenged social and religious taboos. Women began to be infected by their husbands, who contracted the disease on trips abroad and, increasingly, inside the country. Children, too, were born infected, and soon the numbers became hard to ignore.
In this highly conservative Muslim nation, where women are forbidden to drive and talk of sex is taboo, even traditional efforts at AIDS prevention face challenges. There is little talk of condom use and safe sex; outreach is focused on abstinence and fear of God.
A growing movement of AIDS patients, doctors and social workers is putting emphasis on teaching Saudis about the disease, though, to help AIDS patients live more normal lives. The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center here in the capital now holds regular public discussions on AIDS and how to live with it. Doctors like Abdullah al-Hokail, who has worked on AIDS at the hospital since the 1980’s, appears regularly on Saudi television to explain the effects of the disease and to preach safe sex.
“The main problem here is not the disease itself,” said Muneera al-Dahhan, a clinical counselor at King Faisal Hospital, the top AIDS treatment center in the country. “It is the tough view of society. People see this as the result of sexual behavior that is unacceptable in our society and are unable to accept it.”
Many other Muslim countries have begun similar programs after decades of underreporting incidence rates. Religious leaders long credited Islam and the region’s conservative culture, which forbids premarital sex, for the low incidence of AIDS. But most clinicians inside and outside the region long suspected that local health agencies were reporting incomplete numbers.
When Rami al-Harithi stood before television cameras at a commemoration of World Aids Day in the Saudi capital last year, he became one of the first AIDS patients to come out in the open.
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சவுதி மக்கள் தொகை 27 மில்லியனாகும். அதாவது 0.33 சதவீதத்தினர் எய்ட்ஸால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளார்கள். இது இந்தியாவில் எய்ட்ஸால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளவர்களின் சதவீதத்தை விட அதிகமானது ஆகும்.
இந்தியாவில் 5 லட்சம் எய்ட்ஸ் நோயாளிகளின் எண்ணிக்கையிலிருந்து 3 லட்சமாக குறைந்துள்ளது. இது 0.03 சதவீதமாகும். ஆகவே சவுதி அரேபியாவில் இந்தியாவில் இருப்பதைவிட 10 மடங்கு அதிகமாக சவுதி அரேபியாவில் எய்ட்ஸ் பரவியுள்ளது.
ஒழுக்க சீர்கேட்டில் வாழும் மக்கள் திருந்தி, எய்ட்ஸ் அணுகாதவாறு குடும்ப வாழ்வு வாழ்ந்து நல்வழி பெற விரும்புவோம்.
Saudi Arabia Begins to Face Hidden AIDS Problem
By HASSAN M. FATTAH
Published: August 8, 2006
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia —He lives virtually in hiding, his real life a secret from his family and some of his closest friends.
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Tamara Abdul Hadi for The New York Times
Rami al-Harithi, infected with H.I.V. in surgery, is a public advocate in ways that homosexuals cannot be.
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Abdullah al-Hokail, a doctor at the country’s top AIDS treatment center, appears on TV regularly to explain the disease and preach safe sex.
Being gay in Saudi Arabia is hard enough. But for a growing number of Saudis like Feisal, middle-aged, gay and H.I.V.-positive, life is a tangle of regret and fear.
“You live in constant fear of being found out and attacked,” said Feisal, who spoke on condition that only his middle name be used, for fear of discrimination. “I’m sure a lot of people would think I deserve what I have if they knew about it.”
If not for a mixture of Saudi doctors, social workers and advocates for AIDS patients who have pushed the government to tackle the disease more openly and encouraged patients to fight for their rights, Feisal’s situation would be even more dire. But change is slowly taking place.
For years Saudi Arabia kept its growing AIDS problem hidden. Statistics on the disease were sealed in envelopes and guarded like national secrets. In mosques, imams spoke of AIDS as the “wrath of God” brought upon people who committed “sexual deviancy.”
Now, the government is opening up. In June, the Ministry of Health announced that more than 10,000 people in Saudi Arabia were H.I.V.-positive or had AIDS, including nearly 600 children. The numbers appear to show a significant increase in infection over 2004, when 7,800 cases were reported, and 2003, when 6,700 cases were reported.
Officials say that better reporting is the reason for the growing numbers. But many doctors say even the latest figures are off, with the real numbers likely to be far higher in this nation of 27 million people. One physician who has treated many patients who have been hiding their condition or were unaware of it estimated that the real number could be as high as 80,000.
Some years back, the government passed legislation protecting the privacy of people who were ill and guaranteeing their right to work, which provided some protection to AIDS patients. Saudi citizens with AIDS have also long had the right to free medical care, and today receive expensive anti-retroviral drugs without charge.
But the rights and protections are only for Saudi citizens. More than three-quarters of the reported H.I.V. cases are of foreign residents. Foreigners living here found to be H.I.V.-positive are typically imprisoned and then deported.
Fortunately for Feisal, he is a Saudi citizen. “I have to praise the government,” he said. “We get the drugs for free, the medical care for free, and the treatment is confidential.”
But Feisal said that nothing is being done to build acceptance of people with AIDS, much less homosexuality.
Indeed, the lingering challenge for most AIDS patients is their acceptance by society. Ever since the first case was diagnosed here in 1984, the disease has challenged social and religious taboos. Women began to be infected by their husbands, who contracted the disease on trips abroad and, increasingly, inside the country. Children, too, were born infected, and soon the numbers became hard to ignore.
In this highly conservative Muslim nation, where women are forbidden to drive and talk of sex is taboo, even traditional efforts at AIDS prevention face challenges. There is little talk of condom use and safe sex; outreach is focused on abstinence and fear of God.
A growing movement of AIDS patients, doctors and social workers is putting emphasis on teaching Saudis about the disease, though, to help AIDS patients live more normal lives. The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center here in the capital now holds regular public discussions on AIDS and how to live with it. Doctors like Abdullah al-Hokail, who has worked on AIDS at the hospital since the 1980’s, appears regularly on Saudi television to explain the effects of the disease and to preach safe sex.
“The main problem here is not the disease itself,” said Muneera al-Dahhan, a clinical counselor at King Faisal Hospital, the top AIDS treatment center in the country. “It is the tough view of society. People see this as the result of sexual behavior that is unacceptable in our society and are unable to accept it.”
Many other Muslim countries have begun similar programs after decades of underreporting incidence rates. Religious leaders long credited Islam and the region’s conservative culture, which forbids premarital sex, for the low incidence of AIDS. But most clinicians inside and outside the region long suspected that local health agencies were reporting incomplete numbers.
When Rami al-Harithi stood before television cameras at a commemoration of World Aids Day in the Saudi capital last year, he became one of the first AIDS patients to come out in the open.
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