Dec. 02--A CLINIC for anonymous Aids testing will soon be set up at the Naim Health Centre, it was revealed yesterday.
The initiative is spearheaded by the National Aids Prevention Committee, in co-operation with the Health Ministry and the Bahrain Red Crescent Society.
"We are starting a special clinic which will be for anonymous testing, no names will be taken," committee head Dr Somaya Al Jowder told the GDN.
"They will be tested for Aids and Hepatitis C and we are establishing this in collaboration with the Bahrain Red Crescent Society and the Health Ministry at Naim Health Centre.
"It's in the early stages, but we hope it will be started soon."
Dr Al Jowder was speaking on the occasion of World Aids Day yesterday.
A special event to mark the occasion was held by the committee and the Southern Governorate in Sakhir.
It included speeches by Dr Al Jowder and other officials and a Bahrain flag-raising ceremony at the top of Jabal Dukhan (Mountain of Smoke) -- the highest point in the country.
HIV is detected among one in 10,000 of Bahrain's general population, according to the ministry.
Between January and September authorities registered 48 new HIV cases in Bahrain. Of these, 18 females and 19 males, all expats, tested positive for HIV and were deported.
A Bahraini couple, who suffer from sickle cell anaemia, were among the two cases detected this year.
There have been 380 HIV cases detected since 1986. Of these, 160 patients have since died and 43 have full blown Aids.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a statement issued by the UN House in Bahrain called for a sustainable response to Aids.
He said next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the epidemic and with the help of the global community lives were being saved.
"We have finally reached the first part of Millennium Development Goal six -- by halting and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV," he said on the occasion of World Aids Day.
"We must continue to chart a new and bold path ahead.
"Our common goal is clear -- universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. We must also work to make the Aids response sustainable."
becky@gdn.com.bh
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