Religious, Political Arab Leaders Launch Project To Address HIV/AIDS in Middle East
Religious and political leaders from 20 Arab countries this week at the close of a meeting of the League of Arab States announced a pan-Arab project to address HIV/AIDS in the Middle East, the AP/Jerusalem Post reports. The project will aim to reduce stigma associated with HIV/AIDS in Arab countries and to provide medical treatment and counseling to HIV-positive individuals and their families. According to a document distributed at the meeting, the project will develop steps to promote abstinence, prevent commercial sex work, and provide health services and counseling. The project -- which will be called "Chahama," meaning "magnanimity" in Arabic -- will be funded through donations from individuals, mosques, nongovernmental organizations and international groups, according to the AP/Post (Sinan, AP/Jerusalem Post, 11/10). According to UNAIDS, there were more than 67,000 new HIV cases in the Middle East and North Africa last year. About 510,000 HIV-positive people live in the region (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 11/9).
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