RIYADH: The Ministry of Health has made arrangements to provide free HIV/AIDS testing, a senior official from the ministry announced here Saturday.
“We are carrying out a national program to ensure that interested locals and residents make use of this facility to take precautionary measures against the disease,” Dr. Ziad Al-Memish, deputy minister for preventive medicine, said on Saturday while inaugurating a scientific conference on HIV/AIDS in the capital.
He pointed out that there is a network of more than 2,000 health centers and 240 hospitals throughout the Kingdom equipped with the facilities for such screening tests.
“We also have testing centers as well as counseling offices where AIDS patients can avail themselves of services free of charge,” Al-Memish noted, adding that the national program is being carried out with the active participation of the private sector.
The deputy minister said that the spread of the HIV virus has become a serious global challenge and it demands top priority to create nationwide awareness program to combat the disease.
“Such awareness program needs devoted health officials to prevent and advise people from falling prey to this disease,” he said. “The Ministry of Health will penetrate remote places to implement the program to ensure that citizens as well as residents get the maximum benefit.”
Congratulating Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rab-eeah for implementing such a useful program at national level, Dr. Sana Filemban, director of the ministry’s HIV/AIDS program, called for the cooperation of all health officials in the ministry to implement the program effectively in the Kingdom. She requested health officials in all health regions to make the best use of health facilities available in the prevention of AIDS in the respective areas.
In 2009, the Health Ministry identified 1,287 new cases of HIV/AIDS in the Kingdom, 481 of whom were Saudi. However, the numbers of undiagnosed cases are believed to be much higher. The World Health Organization says, as a general rule of thumb, that one in 10 cases go undiagnosed although this ratio can vary depending on each country’s statistical methodologies and accuracy in data collection.
The Kingdom is home to a significant number of undocumented immigrants and illegal overstayers who are averse to AIDS testing at public clinics. Statistics show that a majority of HIV cases are diagnosed among foreigners in the Kingdom.
Expatriates diagnosed with HIV are deported. Those applying to work in the Kingdom must be screened for HIV before acquiring work permits.
Filemban claimed that the Kingdom has the lowest HIV/AIDS cases — 0.1 to 0.2 percent of the population. “The percentage is relatively higher among men than women. The most recent male to female ratio showed 4:1,” says Filemban. She said many awareness programs to combat the spread of disease are being planned and implemented. The main targeted segment is youths who are taught the means of preventing the disease.
She added that the Ministry of Health will organize awareness programs in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program throughout the Kingdom all year long for educating people about HIV and how to treat those infected with it.
There are 20 voluntary counseling and testing centers available in the Kingdom.
Moreover, HIV testing can be done from any hospital. In recent years the Kingdom has attempted to promote and enforce patient’s privacy.
Filemban has previously held several posts within the Health Ministry and has worked on several HIV/AIDS-awareness campaigns.
A graduate in medicine and surgery from King Abdulaziz University, Filemban has attended a training program on internal medicine in Scotland. She was also part of an international training program against HIV/AIDS held in the US.
