1,233 AIDS cases reported last year

According to a Saudi health group, the Kingdom witnessed 1,233 new cases of AIDS last year. These victims included 431 Saudis and 802 foreigners.
In 2011, Saudi Arabia had noticed 1,195 AIDS cases, including 459 Saudis and 736 foreigners.
“Ninety-six percent of AIDS patients in the Kingdom contracted AIDS through intercourse,” said Sanaa bin Mustafa Filimban, chairman at the Saudi Charity Association for AIDS patients.
It showed that most of the cases recorded are of young adults, aged between 15 to 49 years old, making up 74 percent of the total number of cases with STDs (sexually transmitted diseases).
Filimban said that a total of 850 Saudi women were infected in the kingdom, all of whom contracted the disease from their husbands. 80 percent of these women discovered they had AIDS after their pregnancy.
The ratio of male to female victims among the Saudis is at about five to one.
“To prevent having children with AIDS, women should get checked for HIV infection before pregnancy, even in the first few months,” she added.
Filimban said the AIDS virus is transmitted from husband to wife and children, which means that many of those infected with the disease don’t know about their infection. She said that social awareness is very important for controlling AIDS in the Kingdom. 
“We should deal with social health awareness because we still have a relatively low rate of HIV infection than other parts of the world,” she noted.
According to a United Nation Development Program (UNDP) report, nearly 16,334 cases of AIDS or HIV have been reported in Saudi Arabia since 1984, including 4458 Saudis and 11876 non-Saudis.
The UNDP supports countries to draw attention to HIV through national planning, gender equality and by ensuring human rights and legislative environments to reduce vulnerability to the deadly disease.