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42 more HIV cases among nationals, says MoH official

DUBAI – Forty-two more HIV AIDS cases have been reported among UAE nationals since the Ministry of Health (MoH) announced the total number of patients suffering from the disease in the country last year, an MoH official said yesterday.

Speaking to the Press after inaugurating the first two-day workshop to discuss a National Strategic Framework for HIV Prevention at the Dubai Police Officers’ Club yesterday, the UAE Minister of Health, Humaid Al Quttami, reiterated that this year, a law would be passed to incorporate HIV positive UAE nationals into the system by offering them jobs in the government sector. “This is our way of supporting such people in the country,” he added.

The minister said the government had taken stringent measures to curb the spread of the disease in the country.

“We ensure that no HIV infected person enters the country and that’s the reason why we hold medical fitness programmes. There is an estimated increase of 92,000 cases annually in the Middle East region.”

Dr Nada Al Marzouqi, Director of National HIV AIDS Prevention Programme at the MoH, said women and children were also among those infected. She cited unprotected sex and drug abuse as the major reasons for the rise in the number of cases.

Last year, Al Quttami, releasing statistics for the first time ever, announced that the total number of HIV positive UAE nationals, who were alive, was 466 while 657 were infected in all. He also said no statistics were available on expats as all those who were found to be infected were repatriated immediately.

Dr Al Marzouqi, who was speaking on the sidelines of a two-day workshop, said, “We are not an isolated country. Therefore, new cases can be expected.”

She explained that the workshop was being held to formulate a five-year action plan to combat AIDS. “We are working on a draft called Response Analysis which will help work out an action plan to monitor, analyse and expedite the status of the disease in the UAE,” she explained.

In short, she said, “The objective of the workshop is to review national priorities in fighting the disease, identify the strategy and approve the first draft of the Response Analysis.”

She also said the workshop will offer recommendations to the executive team, comprising members from the MoH, the Department of Health and Medical Services, the General Authority of Health and Services in Abu Dhabi, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Justice, that has been formed to work out the strategy.