Threat of HIV pandemic in Maldives: State Health Minister

State Health Minister Lubna Mohamed Zahir Hussain on Wednesday night said that there is an increased risk of the HIV spread in the Maldives.

At the ceremony held at Traders hotel to celebrate the conclusion of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) five year project to raise awareness on Aids, financed by the Global Fund, State Health Minister and National Drug Agency Chairperson Lubna said that it has been found that there has been an increase in behavior leading to HIV in the Maldives. She highlighted that the risk for the young generation from these acts is high.

“Such things (dangerous actions) can cause an increased spread of HIV in the Maldives,” Lubna said.

She also highlighted that there is an increased amount of cases of illegal narcotic injection same as in other regional countries and that it is an issue of concern in which much awareness is needed.

She said that there has been an HIV prevention program launched in the Maldives in 1987 while the first HIV case in the Maldives was recorded in the year 1991. She added that since then, there has been much work done to mitigate the risk of HIV.

In the ceremony, President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik said that the UNDP project was carried out with much help for the local NGOs. President Waheed congratulated and thanked the UNDP and the local NGOs for successfully concluding the project and assured that the government will not stop the work towards preventing the spread of HIV.

The global fund financed project to raise awareness among the public towards the prevention of HIV was started in the year 2006. While many locals and expatriates were briefed on the issue of preventing the spread of HIV, the project also aimed to increase the quality of the health sector.

UNDP representative Andrew said that the project received a lot of cooperation from the NGOs and the health ministry. He said that the project was aimed at increasing the awareness among the community and that it had succeeded in doing so within the period. However, he said that he had noticed that many are increasingly exposed to the risks through their own actions. He added that some had been tested positive for HIV during the period of the project. Andrew also stressed on the importance of prevention of HIV.

UNDP holds a function at Traders Hotel on October 10, 2012 to mark the end of a five-year HIV/AIDS awareness program supported by the Global Fund. Videography: Mohamed Sajid.


 Via Haveeru

Posted in: Health / HIV