Advanced steps for Aids must: National report presented to UN

BY PMA RASHEED

The Gulf Today, 8 April 2010

A national report for combating AIDS in the UAE has been presented to the United Nations (UN) for the first time, according to officials at the Ministry of Health (MOH).

The report calls various UAE health authorities in the country to apply international standards and advanced measures to prevent the spread of the disease in the society, said a senior health official.

Dr Hanif Hassan Ali, the Minister of Health, has reviewed the Aids combating report before submitting it to the UN's General Assembly. The minister met with Dr Mohammad Alam Al Deen, the UN's Technical Coordinator designated to assist the member countries on writing a national report about the status of AIDS, including the rate of infection.

Dr Mahmood Fikri, Executive Director for Health Policies at the MoH, said the UAE Ministry of Health filed its report to the UN last week, as the international body had asked all countries to submit their national Aids reports before March.31.

"The UAE adopted a draft system for managing reported cases of Aids as well as actions taken to achieve prevention of the spread of the disease to more members of the society," he added.

According to him, the UAE will henceforth, submit a periodic report every two years to the United Nations. The reports are as per the guidelines of the UN general assembly in relation to fighting Aids.

Dr Fikri pointed out that the report includes general indicators to assess national programmes of each country, as per the UN requirements and instructions of the WHO.

"The UN advisor visited the UAE several times to learn the development of the report," he noted.

A national team consisting of members from health authorities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Dubai Police, the Ministry of Interior, Medical Services Department in the Armed Forces, Red Crescent Authority and concerned departments at the MoH, discussed the nature of the report and the steps they follow to achieve national goals and objectives.

The UN organises a meeting of health ministers of the member nations every two years at its General Assembly in New York, where each country's report as well as the global scenario in implementing Aids preventive measures, is discussed.