On World AIDS Day, 109 new HIV-positive cases

On December 1st, the official World AIDS Day, the total number of people diagnosed and registered with the Ministry of Health as HIV-positive in Lebanon reached 1,455 people, with 109 new cases documented in the 2011 statistics.      

The most recent studies show that most of the people living with diagnosed HIV/AIDS are men, as the majority of women still hesitate to be tested due to conservative social norms.        
The studies also shed light on the fact that most patients contracted the virus as a result of sexual acts; however, the notion that the killer virus is limited to homosexual acts is outdated and factually inaccurate. 27.5% of reported cases were the result of heterosexual sex.         

The statistics seem to indicate that most cases of HIV/AIDS in Lebanon are homegrown. 72% of the people living with HIV confirm they did not get out of the country recently, as showed by the statistics carried out 10 years ago.        

In this regard, one of the workers at the Service Reception Center in Sin El Fil, one of the 20 centers located across Lebanon and affiliated with the national program to combat AIDS, said that the program allows anyone to come in for free testing with full assurance that they will be treated with full confidentiality and will not have to give their name or personal information at any time. He added that the test is quick and easy, with results produced within ten minutes.     

The Health Ministry of Lebanon guarantees that all those who test positive and register with the ministry will receive full coverage for all necessary treatment.