Baghdad, 2 December 2012 - Iraq joined the rest of the world in commemorating World AIDS Day 2012 under the theme of “Getting to Zero”: Zero new HIV infections. Zero Discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.
On this occasion, WHO encourages partnership to improve access to HIV testing and counselling as a key service to increase access to HIV treatment and care.
“It starts with an HIV test. HIV testing and counselling services are an imperative gateway to HIV prevention, treatment and care. By knowing their HIV status, people living with HIV can access treatment and care services. With counselling and necessary behaviour change interventions, people living with HIV can also prevent further transmission of the virus to others; and people who are HIV negative can assert their personal choices, which can help them maintain a life without HIV” said, Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain, Representative of WHO in Iraq, on behalf of Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean.
In Iraq, the number of people living with HIV is less than 0.1% of the total population, which is considered low prevalence, and the number in any defined most-at-risk population group does not exceed 5%. Most-at-risk groups include female sex workers, men who have sex with men and injecting drug users. However, because of the extreme difficulty in reaching these populations in Iraq, the Ministry of Health, through the National HIV/AIDS Control Programme with the support of WHO, UNDP, UNICEF and other partners, is working indirectly to reach these populations through expansion of general health education and health promotion.
While HIV/AIDS prevalence is low in Iraq, high stigmatization of HIV and openly practised discrimination against people living with the disease have obstructed efforts to identify cases, and as a result HIV/AIDS prevention, control and treatment will continue to remain a big challenge unless testing and counselling services are scaled up.
The Ministry of Health is working, in cooperation with local communities, to bridge gaps between the mandated public institutions and the most vulnerable segments of the population, particularly the high-risk population groups, by focusing on prevention of HIV/AIDS transmission among the population, especially among youth and productive work groups. In addition, focus is being put on eliminating discrimination practised against people living with HIV/AIDS through raising awareness and educating the public on the disease, specifically increasing knowledge on different routes of transmission.
“Ensuring availability of HIV testing and counselling services in Iraq, taking into consideration social and cultural norms, will help reduce and control the transmission of HIV and hence contribute to reaching zero cases of HIV in 2015” added Dr Hussain. In over 30 years since the appearance of HIV, the understanding of the virus and its transmission dynamics has grown globally. Similarly, the evidence with regard to effective interventions has accumulated, increasing the ability to care for and treat those who are living with HIV, and to control the spread of the virus. Today, the global number of people living with HIV amounts to 34.2 million people. The World AIDS Campaign focus on “Zero AIDS related deaths” signifies a push towards greater access to treatment for all.
Baghdad, 2 December 2012 - Iraq joined the rest of the world in commemorating World AIDS Day 2012 under the theme of “Getting to Zero”: Zero new HIV infections. Zero Discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.
On this occasion, WHO encourages partnership to improve access to HIV testing and counselling as a key service to increase access to HIV treatment and care.
“It starts with an HIV test. HIV testing and counselling services are an imperative gateway to HIV prevention, treatment and care. By knowing their HIV status, people living with HIV can access treatment and care services. With counselling and necessary behaviour change interventions, people living with HIV can also prevent further transmission of the virus to others; and people who are HIV negative can assert their personal choices, which can help them maintain a life without HIV” said, Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain, Representative of WHO in Iraq, on behalf of Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean.
In Iraq, the number of people living with HIV is less than 0.1% of the total population, which is considered low prevalence, and the number in any defined most-at-risk population group does not exceed 5%. Most-at-risk groups include female sex workers, men who have sex with men and injecting drug users. However, because of the extreme difficulty in reaching these populations in Iraq, the Ministry of Health, through the National HIV/AIDS Control Programme with the support of WHO, UNDP, UNICEF and other partners, is working indirectly to reach these populations through expansion of general health education and health promotion.
While HIV/AIDS prevalence is low in Iraq, high stigmatization of HIV and openly practised discrimination against people living with the disease have obstructed efforts to identify cases, and as a result HIV/AIDS prevention, control and treatment will continue to remain a big challenge unless testing and counselling services are scaled up.
The Ministry of Health is working, in cooperation with local communities, to bridge gaps between the mandated public institutions and the most vulnerable segments of the population, particularly the high-risk population groups, by focusing on prevention of HIV/AIDS transmission among the population, especially among youth and productive work groups. In addition, focus is being put on eliminating discrimination practised against people living with HIV/AIDS through raising awareness and educating the public on the disease, specifically increasing knowledge on different routes of transmission.
“Ensuring availability of HIV testing and counselling services in Iraq, taking into consideration social and cultural norms, will help reduce and control the transmission of HIV and hence contribute to reaching zero cases of HIV in 2015” added Dr Hussain. In over 30 years since the appearance of HIV, the understanding of the virus and its transmission dynamics has grown globally. Similarly, the evidence with regard to effective interventions has accumulated, increasing the ability to care for and treat those who are living with HIV, and to control the spread of the virus. Today, the global number of people living with HIV amounts to 34.2 million people. The World AIDS Campaign focus on “Zero AIDS related deaths” signifies a push towards greater access to treatment for all.
