DAMMAM, 6 April 2003 — A new center for treating AIDS patients is being set up in the Eastern Province, Dr. Akeel Al-Ghamdi, director of health affairs in the Eastern Province, told Al-Watan newspaper. The cost of treating each patient ranges from SR200,000 to SR400,000, depending on how far the illness has advanced. According to latest statistics, there are 1,238 AIDS cases in the Kingdom, 25 percent of them Saudis. Al-Ghamdi previously told the newspaper that patients in the Eastern Province form five percent of the total number in Saudi Arabia. Other centers are to be established in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.