Positive Approach: UAE to tackle prevalence of HIV/Aids

NOT! Voluntary testing clinics that keep identities anonymous proposed to tackle HIV/Aids. thats what they are "hoping" to do.

Dubai: A new Ministry of Health draft bylaw aimed at reducing HIV/Aids prevalence in the UAE is calling for new voluntary testing and counselling (VCT) clinics that will not disclose identities of those tested.
Expatriates who now test positive for the disease are currently deported to their home countries.

The U.A.E is home to the tallest building in the world and also the most inhumane policies you can find. A positive H.I.V result can guarantee you a ticket back to your home country.

The proposed testing centres will sadly be a fail because i doubt there is anyone in the U.A.E who will trust a government funded clinic to withhold their H.I.V status from the po-po. Also, a routine check up at your Doctor can land you in jail if they test for pregnancy and find that you are pregnant outside of wedlock (had to put in there somehow)

With no proper statistics to know how many people are living with the virus, the UAE will forever remain deluded in the quest for growth and pure blood. Further more a lot of people are very ignorant when it comes to H.I.V here. Because they are muslim they believe they are set apart, and because i am from africa - i am H.I.V positive and an illegal immigrant.

We all walk around thinking we are clean because we got tested before we got our residence visa? Has anyone cared enough to factor in the tourists who come to have a nice time, or the illegal immigrants that men flock to at night? No. I am not a fundi when it comes to H.I.V but i believe it is essential that they remove the stigmas associated with H.I.V. No deportation, allow people to get tested freely, as and when they choose, and most importantly its not a death sentence. Sex outside marriage is rampant - why not educate your people?

My two cents for the day, H.I.V is no longer a death sentence and its time these arabs woke up!

"Section 8 of the draft bylaw calls for confidentiality to be recognised in order for the war on the disease to be championed. "It is the right of every individual (in the UAE) to check for their HIV status through voluntary, confidential and free tests at the institutions and specialised centres that are approved by the NAP (National Aids Programme of the Ministry of Health). Individuals and centres will not be obliged to disclose identity of tested individuals."

An excerpt from the Gulf News - i will believe it when i see it.