There is a general lack of understanding about AIDS in Saudi Arabia and the purpose of my writing this short piece isn’t to announce how many infected people there are in the Kingdom. Nor do I wish to either speak about the importance of having an AIDS test when marrying or even the awareness program that is under way in the media and in schools and colleges to educate the public. Rather my intention is to write about something totally different.
According to Dr. Abdullah Al-Kuhail, a consultant who specializes in infectious diseases at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital, latest statistics show that more than 8,000 workers in Saudi Arabia are infected with AIDS. This forces us to ask two questions. The first is about the poor role played by local recruitment offices and secondly the dismal role of health attaches in embassies abroad. There is an urgent need to stipulate conditions to force workers to bring health certificates approved by reputable health departments in the countries of origin of foreign workers.
Saudi Arabia is a country that is growing rapidly and for growth we need growing numbers of foreign workers, even if it displeases the Labor Ministry. In order to accommodate these large numbers of workers in our country, we need to implement stricter guidelines and rules about health because AIDS entering Saudi Arabia isn’t good for the general well-being of the Kingdom.
