Ministry of Health Set on Eradicating HIV/AIDS in Egypt by 2030

In a spot of healthy news this fine Sunday afternoon, the Ministry of Health has announced its ambitious plan to eliminate HIV and subsequent AIDS infections throughout the country by 2030.

 “Health for All: Preventing Stigma in Health Facilities” is the slogan for the hopeful initiative, which aims to substantially lower the rates of yearly infection, as well as to provide proper care for those living with the ailment. A heavier focus will be placed on giving patients the follow-up care they need, as well as regular treatment schedules to control the spread of the virus within the blood stream.

Initiatives the likes of the National AIDS Programme, as well as the Child Protection Programme have been doing their part in providing treatment solutions, as well as pre and post-natal care for adult patients and newborns that are susceptible (or infected) with the disease.

Although Egypt has made some, albeit slow progress in the fields of HIV awareness and prevention, the country lacks proper sexual education, sexually transmitted disease awareness, and proper preventive care. Stigmatisation as well as patient mishandling are also alarming factors playing into the disease’s spread, which, according to the UN, is seeing a 25-30% increase in incidents every year at an "alarming rate."

Main image from UNICEF Egypt.