JEDDAH: The Saudi AIDS Patients Society has called for ending the discrimination against the country’s 14,000 AIDS patients during a conference sponsored by the organization to raise awareness, local papers reported on Thursday.
Addressing the conference, Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja pledged that the media would give greater care to people with HIV.
“We’ll hold a meeting with media persons to implement the conference’s resolutions,” the minister said, and emphasized the need to change the perception about HIV positive people.
“All groups of society should stand by patients wholeheartedly and try to prevent the spread of this disease,” he said.
Sana Flimban, chairperson of the society, highlighted the danger of the disease and the role of the media in dealing with it.
“The media can play a big role in enlightening the society about the disease and its danger,” she said.
She said the total number of AIDS cases recorded in the Kingdom by 2008 was 13,926. “In 2009 alone 505 cases among Saudis and 769 among foreigners were reported,” she pointed out.
Saudi writer Jameel Al-Diyabi criticized authorities for not providing consistent and accurate figures regarding the number of HIV carriers in the Kingdom.
“We see contradictory reports about the number of AIDS patients,” he said. “This has a negative impact on researchers and those concerned with the disease in the country. We should adopt an effective strategy to contain the disease by providing all information about the disease and its danger.”
Mustafa Sabri, secretary-general of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, criticized the media for its lukewarm support to AIDS patients, calling it “ridiculous.”
Khaled Darraj, editor in chief of Shams newspaper, claims that 70 percent of AIDS patients in the Kingdom contracted the virus through sexual relations.
Singer Fayez Al-Maliki urged satellite television channels to allocate part of their time to the subject.
