HIV/AIDS should be on Egypt’s agenda, says UN Secretary-General

While Egypt is categorized as a low-prevalence country when it comes to HIV/AIDS, the virus should be atop the country’s health agenda before it becomes an epidemic, Dr Nafis Saddiq, Special Envoy for the UN Secretary-General on HIV/AIDS, said in an interview with Daily News Egypt.
“What we’re saying about the Middle East and Asia is that these are epidemics waiting to happen,” she said.
This year UNAIDS is giving high priority to the prevention of mother-child transmission program, which has proven to be very successful. However, Egypt is lagging behind so “hopefully they will move up that program,” she said.
Another issue given high priority is the protection of women and girls against HIV/AIDS, who are very susceptible to the virus, including married women, because of the lack of knowledge and the lack of protection.