On World AIDS Day, local infection rates are low and treatment is free

Damascus-SANA

The Director of Communicable and Chronic Diseases at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Zuhair Al-Sahwi, confirmed that Syria is still classified as one of the countries with low rates of HIV infection regionally and globally, where an average of 60 cases are diagnosed each year.

Dr. Al-Sahwi said in a statement to SANA that the number of patients currently living with AIDS is 300, and the treatment coverage rate has reached 75 percent of the followed patients, pointing out that the cumulative number of patients since 1987 until the current year has reached 1090 patients, including 739 Syrians and 351 non-Syrians.

Dr. Al-Sahwi indicated that the treatment of AIDS patients is still free and that the medicine has not witnessed any interruption, pointing to the continuation of the work of the counseling centers that provide voluntary and free testing to detect AIDS in secret.

The first of December of each year coincides with the World AIDS Day, which recorded 1.5 million new infections around the world in 2020, according to the figures of the World Health Organization, which warned on this occasion that Covid 19 exacerbates forms of inequity and interruptions of services, which makes the lives of many people living with Virus more difficult.

Dr. Al-Sahwi revealed that 10 Corona infections were recorded among AIDS patients, and they were followed up and appropriate treatment was provided to them, pointing out that two health isolation rooms were allocated to them in all governorates.

The estimated number of people living with HIV around the world in 2020 is 37,700,000 people, of whom 680,000 died, according to the World Health Organization, which shows that the virus remains a major public health issue affecting millions of people. The world has made great progress in recent decades, but the important global goals for 2020 have not been achieved.

Rama Rashidi

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