CAIRO: An American University in Cairo panel marking World Aids Day highlighted the need to combat misconceptions still held by the media and the social stigma and taboos which surround the disease. Dr. Cherif Soliman, of Family Health International, ... UNAids' country director for Egypt, and ... , from the Ministry of Health's National Program on Aids warned that before any organization can start to effectively educate people about the dangers of Aids, they must figure out how to reach the populations at highest risk. Yet many of the high-risk populations are hidden in Egyptian and Middle Eastern society. Homosexuals, who were some of the first to get Aids when it was discovered in the US in 1982, are not openly accepted into Egyptian society, and therefore it becomes rather challenging for Aids information campaigns and health workers to reach them. Extramarital sex and drug use, two high-risk behaviors for Aids, are also not freely acknowledged here, which, again, makes them difficult to target for Aids education. The existence of Aids itself is often denied in Egypt. Aoun and Moh had encountered this attitude at another World Aids Day in Beni Suif governorate earlier on Thursday. "One of the governors came up and said 'we don't have Aids in Egypt.' at a World Aids Day event, said Aoun. "Denial is a big problem. "The reason HIV continues to spread very rapidly is because of stigma. People are terrified, said Aoun. "They don't get tested because they don't want to know. The fear of the stigma around the disease is even more than the fear of biological effects. The three panelists disagreed on how big a problem Aids really is, and how well it is being dealt with in Egypt and the Middle East. Dr. Soliman began the discussion by comparing the Aids epidemics in Western Europe and the Middle East. On first glance, Aids seems to be a bigger problem in Europe because the UN estimates that there are 720,000 people living with Aids in Europe, and 510,000 in the Middle East and North Africa. However, in 2005 the number of newly infected people in the Middle East was 67,000, nearly three times that of Western Europe, which was 22,000. Furthermore, 58,000 people died of Aids in the Middle East in 2005, according to UN figures, while only 12,000 died in Western Europe. According to Aoun, the UN believes that 5,000 to 30,000 Egyptians have the disease. These estimates are very vague because of the lack of reporting mechanisms in Egypt. Some controversy came up when Moh stood up after Aoun and said that only 900 Egyptians have Aids, according to the Egyptian government's National Aids Program (NAP). He smiled a bit, looking at Aoun, and accounted for this difference in numbers by saying, "You have to have the high and low estimates. Aoun had a more detailed explanation of the difference in numbers, and the vagueness of her own estimates. "This representation is not even close to the real number, she said. "Out of every five people with HIV, only one is tested. And of those who know, not all report it. As for raising awareness, the National Aids Program has established Aids testing and treatment centers in ten governorates, and has nine traveling Aids centers, vans that provide treatment throughout the country. Despite these efforts, Moh mentioned that they currently have only three Aids counseling groups, with ten to fifteen people in each group, and only 200 Egyptians currently receive anti-retroviral treatment (ARV) for Aids. Yet, with a National Aids Hotline (0800 700 8000) and continuing efforts to integrate Aids education into school curriculums, the NAP hopes to increase these numbers. The UN has also tried to develop culturally-sensitive Aids awareness campaigns, such as educating local religious leaders about Aids so that they encourage their communities to learn about the disease and its risks. Still, much work must be done to curb the growing Aids epidemic. "This is really quite baffling, said Aoun, speaking of Aids' rapid spread throughout the world. "It's not a highly infectious disease. We know how it's transmitted. This is very worrying in my opinion, given that it's 2006. But Aids also has far-reaching economic fallout. Aids is the most dangerous factor threatening countries economies, said Dr Ibrahim El Kerdany, Spokesman, Regional Advisor, Public Information WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean at a panel discussion at the British Council. There are 10 UN agencies joining forces to combat Aids, he added, saying Egypt has now achieved an advanced level of safety in blood transfusion. Panelist Dr Faten M. Moftah, Director General of the National Blood Transfusion Services, confirmed that blood transfusion services in Egypt have become safer throughout the past few years. Every blood transfusion unit carefully tests blood before transfusing it to anybody. We are adopting the motto of breaking the silence, said Dr Nasr El Sayed, deputy minister of health and population. The UN coordinates with other organizations to facilitate treatments. Aids treatment is now available for patients in Egypt for free, El Kerdany said. Two years ago the Egyptian government started offering a free Aids lab testing service nationwide. The British Council panel discussion was held in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Population, National Blood Transfusion Services (NBTS), the World Health Organization (WHO), UNAids, Egyptian Aids Society and Seha (health) magazine.
