JEDDAH, 7 August 2004 — There are 84 children among the Kingdom’s 1,238 AIDS patients, according to Dr. Tarek Madani, adviser to the health minister and consultant on AIDS treatment.
He said the age of HIV positive children ranged between one month and 14 years. He also disclosed that 45 percent of the country’s AIDS victims are women.
Madani said an HIV patient requires SR120,000 for treatment annually, adding that SR5,000 is the value of the cheapest medicine. The Health Ministry recently announced a 17 percent increase in AIDS cases in the Kingdom last year.
“The rate of AIDS prevalence differs from one region to another,” the official said, adding that the majority of AIDS patients are in Jeddah (70 out of 100,000 citizens). The Eastern Province accounts for 10 percent of the total patients.
Dr. Madani, who is also supervisor of AIDS treatment centers in the Kingdom, emphasized that treatment of the killer disease was possible. “There is a general notion that AIDS is a disease which cannot be treated. It is not true,” Al-Watan quoted him as saying.
The rate of death among patients receiving continuous treatment has declined by 80 percent, according to Dr. Hayel Al-Abdali, consultant for contagious diseases at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center. There are more than 40 million AIDS patients worldwide.
Madani said he had observed tremendous improvement in patients at the three AIDS treatment centers under the ministry.
He disclosed plans to open a fourth center in the southern region of Jizan soon after the completion of the building and arrival of necessary equipment.
He said the Kingdom has acquired modern medicines for the treatment of AIDS. “We import these medicines from the United States and Europe.” He said about 90 percent of HIV cases are caused by extramarital sexual relations.
Dr. Khaled Al-Sawwaf, health director in Jeddah, described AIDS as a development problem rather than a medical problem. He commended the efforts made by doctors, scientists and organizations to find a cure for the disease.
Sawwaf highlighted his department’s efforts to enlighten the public on how to get rid of AIDS. He called for the cooperation of all relevant agencies to fight this scourge.
Dr. Sana Flimban, director of the national program to combat AIDS in Jeddah, disclosed plans to distribute booklets on the disease at airports, universities and public places to enhance public awareness.
Some 210,000 copies of the booklet have been distributed under the program, she said and urged philanthropists and charitable organizations to support treatment of AIDS patients as many of them are poor. AIDS patients require tests worth SR2,000 to SR3,000 every month or every three months.
