Dec. 02--BEIRUT -- Health Minister Mohammad Jawad Khalifeh said Wednesday that tests for detecting Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) were being undertaken throughout Lebanon and that the best medications were being offered to patients, while adding that raising awareness was the most important means of combatting the disease.
"The [Health] Ministry offers the best medications and treatment upon the orders of specialists at the beginning of every year," he said during an event to mark World AIDS Day which is celebrated on December 1. "These medicines are available throughout the year and the Health Ministry has established a specialized AIDS center for patients to have access to these medications in an organized manner," he added.
The patient has to present a magnetic card and fill an electronic application, added Khalifeh, stressing that the privacy of all AIDS patients was being protected.
However, Khalifeh emphasized the importance of raising awareness in combating AIDS and highlighted the role of religious authorities in that field.
"The world is heading toward treating this disease through engaging in research to come up with effective vaccinations but awareness is most important in combating it," he said.
Khalifeh was addressing the audience of a ceremony honoring the winners of a competition aimed at raising awareness of the rights of AIDS victims.
Awards were offered by the Health Ministry's National Program for Combating AIDS (NPCA) on the occasion of World AIDS Day. The event took place at the headquarters of the Order of Physicians in Beirut and was organized on the sidelines of a four-day conference of the Lebanese Association for Bacterial Diseases.
"Tests to detect AIDS take place throughout Lebanon and cases of infections are still low compared to other countries because we have an active civil society, along with media outlets and civil associations, " said Khalifeh, who noted, however, that the "problem" of AIDS still existed in Lebanon.
"Treatment is a temporary solution and controlling AIDS does not take place locally. Either the whole world succeeds in controlling AIDS or not," said Khalifeh, as he noted the effects of increased immigration on the spread of AIDS.
Mostafa Nakib, NPCA's director, said that the number of male and female victims of the disease in Lebanon ranged between 3,000 and 5,000 cases, adding that 89 percent of AIDS patients were male.
Some "42 percent of people who have AIDS do not show symptoms, 18 percent of AIDS patients are below 30, 30 percent are aged between 31 and 50 and 17 percent are above 50," said Nakib.
He said the number of people affected by AIDS in 2010 was close to the numbers recorded in 2007.
The regional director of the World Health Organization, Samir Sadiki, said that some 33.4 million individuals were suffering from AIDS in the world.
"For every two persons who receive treatment for AIDS, another five catch the disease, but for sure this will not mean that we will give up," said Sadiki. "Efforts and resources dedicated to combating AIDS are bearing fruit," he added.
At the end of the event, rewards were handed out to competition winners, who were university students.
The contest was entitled "Help and get Distinguished," and it featured an audio or visual sketch to raise awareness of the rights of AIDS sufferers.
In other news, students at the American University of Beirut marked World AIDS Day with a campaign entitled "Free Hugs: Hugging is really not contagious." The campaign is an initiative aimed at expressing support with AIDS sufferers, as well as a campaign to help combat the discrimination that victims of disease often face. -- The Daily Star
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