TAIF, 14 December 2003 — Eighty-three children in the Kingdom are infected with the AIDS virus, according to a source from the Ministry of Health.
Al-Madinah Arabic daily quoted the official as saying the children were born with the HIV virus because their mothers were infected. Some 7,000 people in the Kingdom, including 1,500 Saudis, carry the HIV virus.
The Ministry of Health has recently launched a campaign to increase AIDS awareness, targeting college and university students. This campaign coincides with the opening of three new treatment centers in the Kingdom.
The ministry also intends to open a fourth center in Jizan.
Meanwhile, an African worker in a fast-food store has disappeared from work after he discovered he had the AIDS virus, Al-Watan newspaper reported.
Officials from the Passports Department told the paper they arrested large number of AIDS-infected African workers and deported them immediately.
