Bahrain is set to host a major global conference on the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (Aids) on September 22.
The two-day event will be held under the patronage of Supreme Council for Health (SCH) president Lieutenant General Dr Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa.
“Twenty-five keynote speakers will address the first Bahrain International Aids Conference,” said Salmaniya Medical Complex infectious and internal diseases consultant Dr Jameela Al Salman during a Press conference yesterday.
The conference will be attended by around 300 doctors specialised in the disease, apart from other practitioners who will take part remotely.
Prevention of Aids, tests, HIV-associated diseases, Aids in children, adults and pregnant women, and the latest diagnostic and therapeutic developments will be discussed.
According to latest statistics, the number of registered people living with Aids in Bahrain stood at 351 as of 2021, since the first ever case was diagnosed in 1986.
“The patients are all under treatment programmes that enable them to continue their lives normally,” said Health Ministry assistant under-secretary for public health Dr Mariam Al Hajeri.
She stressed the importance of the law on prevention from Aids to protect HIV patients and preserving their rights.
“Bahrain provides free examinations to couples before marriage, pregnant women as well as pre-admission test for university students, expatriate workers, and others,” said Dr Al Hajeri, also deputy chairperson of the National Aids Prevention Committee.
She stressed Bahrain’s commitment to achieving the goals set by the World Health Organisation to limit the spread of the disease and eliminate its repercussions.
Dr Al Salman highlighted the strides achieved in HIV medications as Aids patients take just one pill, down from 20 prescribed pills previously.
“An Aids patient now has the ability to lead a normal life, marry and work if they adhere to treatment protocols,” she said.
&uuid=(email))