National strategy helped keep HIV at bay, says health minister

Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah said on Monday that the Kingdom's comprehensive national AIDS strategy had helped keep the disease under control. Making the keynote speech at the inauguration of the Saudi Forum on Uniting Arab Countries to Combat AIDS in Riyadh on Monday, the minister said he wants to pay back some of what he has gained from his country. Representatives from 22 Arab countries and religious scholars attended the inaugural ceremony.  The speakers showered praise on Al-Rabeeah for his untiring efforts in the fight against AIDS both within the Kingdom and in the Arab world. Among the speakers who applauded the minister were Saudi religious scholar Sheikh Ayed Al-Qarni; Hind Khatib, director of UNAIDS; Laila Najm, director of health and humanitarian assistance department of the Executive Bureau of the Arab Health Ministers' Council; and Ziad Al-Memish, deputy minister for preventive medicine. Al-Rabeeah, who is also chairman of the Arab Health Ministers' Council, said that it was his duty to carry out his duties for both his motherland and the Arab world. “I have gained a lot from my country, while I have contributed only a little to my nation.” Continuing his address, Al-Rabeeah said the services rendered to the people to combat AIDS is in accordance with the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) and other UN bodies. “We have been carrying out an awareness program in the prevention and treatment of AIDS successfully in the Kingdom,” he said, adding that a scheme has been worked out for AIDS patients to live with their families as normal citizens. The forum, he said, would help the participants to create a partnership and chalk out a unified program in the fight against the epidemic. In her address, Najm said AIDS is the greatest challenge that hampers progress in several countries. She called for a planned private sector participation in the fight against the infection. She said preventive programs carried out through national initiatives have cut down incidence rates. However, she added that there are obstacles in funding such programs. There is an urgent need to remove the social stigma associated with the disease so that such patients can live with dignity, she stressed. Al-Qarni urged people to extend their fullest support to help AIDS patients and their families to integrate in society as normal citizens to help remove social stigmas. “The efforts of the health minister in providing health care services and his personal achievements in the medical field had raised the image of Saudi Arabia in the world,” Al-Qarni said. Al-Memish said that initiative is a follow up to previous efforts made by the Kingdom in the fight against the disease. “The recent development was the Saudi initiative to combat AIDS among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council last October and the minister's immense interest to unite national responses in the Arab countries to fight against AIDS,” Al-Memish said.