World Aids Day: Why the Middle East lags behind in fighting HIV - BBC

The fig of caller HIV cases worldwide has decreased importantly implicit the past decennary - but successful the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), however, it is simply a antithetic story.

The satellite has travel a agelong mode since the highest of the HIV/Aids epidemic - which has truthful acold claimed much than 40 cardinal lives - successful 1996.

Although the Mena portion has the lowest HIV load successful the world, the fig of caller infections accrued by 33% successful that aforesaid period.

That made it 1 of lone 3 regions successful the satellite - on with Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Latin America - wherever HIV is inactive connected the rise.

While the summation could beryllium seen arsenic the effect of wider HIV investigating successful the Mena region, experts suggest that the contented is much complicated.

"The affirmative cases we are discovering via accrued investigating are not aged cases. They are recently infected people, which shows that we are failing successful stopping the dispersed of HIV successful the region," says Dr Nesrine Rizk, an HIV specializer astatine the American University of Beirut.

"There is decidedly a increasing consciousness of HIV successful the Mena region, but it is inactive not enough."

According to Dr Rizk, successful the portion determination is simply a deficiency of "accurate technological information" erstwhile it comes to HIV.

BBC Arabic teams asked radical connected the streets of Beirut and Cairo what they knew astir HIV and what they believed to beryllium down the emergence successful cases.

More than fractional of those surveyed said they "do not cognize overmuch astir HIV and Aids". Some added that they did not privation to cognize much astir them, arsenic they and their loved ones were "far distant from the infection".

In the portion - and crossed the remainder of the satellite - radical who usage drugs, men who person enactment with men, transgender radical and enactment workers are considered the astir at-risk populations.

"The microorganism doesn't recognize barriers and societal groups, it spreads and transmits arsenic we each unrecorded and interact successful the aforesaid space," Dr Rizk says.

While the Middle East and North Africa is 1 of lone 3 regions wherever the fig of caller HIV cases is increasing, it besides has the lowest complaint of HIV attraction sum successful the world.

While attraction is wide available, stigma astir HIV hinders radical from investigating and seeking their treatment. As a result, lone 67% of radical surviving with HIV cognize that they person it, according to the UNAids report.

The bureau warns that inefficient investigating and suboptimal attraction pb to under-diagnosis, persisting transmission, precocious attraction and rising mortality.

Ahmed (not his existent name) told the BBC that helium had suspected helium had HIV for astir 5 years earlier helium yet got the courageousness to instrumentality a trial past year, which was affirmative for the infection.

"I'm inactive successful bully wellness present and should beryllium arsenic agelong arsenic I americium taking my medication," helium says. "But earlier diagnosis could person made a quality successful some my intelligence and carnal health."

In countries wherever same-sex intersexual relations are criminalised, galore radical similar Ahmed deliberation of imaginable prosecution and stigma that could endanger their lives earlier they see getting tested.

"Some radical spot HIV arsenic a decease sentence," says Shereen El Feki, the determination manager for Middle East and North Africa astatine UNAids. But, she adds, acknowledgment to modern medicine and nationalist wellness "HIV is present preventable, treatable, and liveable".

Ms El Feki says the biggest hurdle successful the planetary combat against HIV currently, however, is inequality.

"Intersecting inequalities are inhibiting and preventing radical from accessing the champion of investigating attraction and besides prevention."

While a wide origin of these inequalities is poorness and entree to acquisition and aesculapian services, strict laws and a clampdown connected idiosyncratic freedoms is another.

In sub-Saharan African countries wherever same-sex intersexual relations are criminalised - arsenic they are successful galore countries successful the Mena portion - cheery men are 5 times much apt to declaration HIV than different countries successful the aforesaid portion which bash not criminalise same-sex relations.

"You wouldn't privation to travel guardant and person your information disclosed," says Ms El Feki. Similarly, she adds, "gender inequality is simply a existent vulnerability for women and girls dealing HIV".

UNAids is moving unneurotic with the World Health Organization connected a run to assistance 5,000 radical successful the Mena portion to confidentially trial for the microorganism and get entree to attraction successful December 2022.

"HIV successful Mena is similar a kaleidoscope, you tin look successful it - arsenic galore governments did - and spot that determination is comparatively little cases than different parts of the world," Ms El Feki says.

"But we promote governments to crook that kaleidoscope and spot that, due to the fact that we person comparatively little cases of HIV, we could beryllium amongst the archetypal regions successful the satellite to extremity it."