People living with HIV suffer stigma and ostracization in many societies, and life for them in the Kingdom is no different. They encounter difficulties in finding employment and getting married. Authorities, however, are listening to HIV-positive people in order to help integrate them into society and lead fulfilling lives, as well as addressing root causes, while drawing some comfort from the fact that statistically Saudi Arabia is one of the least affected countries in the world. Care, not isolation “Saudis with HIV need care, not isolation or shaming,” says a 29-year-old man identifying himself only as A.B. “People generally see HIV as a very dangerous sexually transmitted disease and the finger is always pointed at you even if you didn't contract the virus through sexual intercourse.” According to statistics from the National Program for HIV Control, there are 12 thousand HIV positive people in the Kingdom. Seventy-five cases have been discovered through the pre-marriage medical examination. Eighty-six percent of the cases resulted from unlawful relationships, 10 percent from drug abuse and 4 percent inherited the virus from their mothers. Half of all cases are in Jeddah. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), statistics make the Kingdom the least affected country in the world, while neighboring Gulf countries are also among the least affected globally. Dr. Alia Al-Naji, a disease specialist at the Dammam Medical Complex, says there are 33 million people infected with HIV globally, with 2.7 million of the cases discovered in 2007. Two million died from AIDS the same year. In Saudi Arabia, 3033 cases were registered in 2008, with .01 percent of the population affected, and 0.8 percent among the Kingdom's youth. New starts “I was on a tourist visit to an Arab country when I got infected,” says A.M. “I kept it secret from my family and I annulled my engagement to my cousin to protect her from the disease. I went to live on my own alone but my family discovered that I was HIV positive and disowned me.” “I couldn't handle things, and ended up having sessions with a psychiatrist,” he continues. “I finally found all the help and support I needed from the Saudi Society for HIV Patients in Jeddah. They provided me with the necessary treatment and advice, and helped me begin a new chapter in my life. It's no secret that I'm now looking for a wife and a job and it will happen, God willing, with the help of the HIV Association.” Sa'ad, 27, has also been seeking a wife with HIV since he was infected five years ago. “My requirements for a wife may sound strange, but they are logical,” Sa'ad says, “I am over the shock stage now and since I finished the intense treatment sessions I've felt better than ever, and since then I've been thinking of getting married.” 20 percent increase Sami Badawood, Director of Health Affairs in Jeddah, says there has been a 20 percent increase on last year in recorded cases in Jeddah, possibly as a result of new methods of detection such as the pre-marriage examination and mobile test centers. There are 131 pre-marriage test centers around the Kingdom. All medical examinations are treated in strictest confidence. “The new strategies have helped discover cases in persons who weren't aware they were infected,” Badawood says. Dr. Ibraheem Al-Omar, Director General of Laboratories and Blood Banks at the Health Ministry, says that 288,718 people have taken the pre-marriage test, resulting in 75 cases being identified and prevented from going through with their marriages. Al-Omar says the Kingdom is the only country in the world that provides a free pre-marriage test. SR18 million for medicine The National Program for HIV control has allotted SR 18 million annually for the provision of medicines. Treatment costs from SR80,000 to SR120,000 annually. Healthy children Fahad Sa'ad Al-Musaifri, Director of the Saudi Society for HIV Patients, says that apart from finding employment for people with HIV, the society is also constructing homes for their families. “The Society also encourages HIV positive people to seek marriage with people in the same situation,” Al-Musaifri says. “Twenty-two HIV positive mothers have given birth to healthy babies,” he added.
