JEDDAH: More people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are dying from AIDS than 10 years ago, bucking the global trend in which the fatality rate is falling as more get treatment.
AIDS claimed a million lives globally last year, although the scales have tipped in the fight against the disease, with more than half of people infected with HIV now getting treatment, a UN report said Thursday.
Global AIDS deaths are now close to half of what they were in 2005, according to the UNAIDS agency.
But in MENA and eastern Europe and central Asia, AIDS-related deaths have risen by 48 percent and 38 percent respectively, it said, mostly due to HIV-positive patients not getting access to treatment.
Exceptions within these regions show that “when concerted efforts are made, results happen,” the report said, noting that in Algeria the rate of HIV treatment access increased to 76 percent in 2016 from 24 percent in 2010, and in Morocco to 48 percent in 2016 from 16 percent in 2010.
Community-based testing and treatment programs are reaching out to key populations in an increasing number of countries in the MENA region, according to the report.
Just over half of people living with HIV in the region know their HIV status. The report suggested that linkages between HIV testing and antiretroviral therapy initiation require strengthening, and that treatment adherence is a challenge.
In the MENA region, the annual number of adults and children dying due to AIDS-related illnesses increased from an estimated 3,600 in 2000 to more than 11,000 in 2016.
AIDS-related deaths more than doubled between 2000 and 2010 in Egypt, Iran, Kuwait, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen, which can be explained by increasing incidence in some countries and limited access to treatment in others. In countries where treatment coverage has expanded, AIDS-related deaths have decreased significantly since 2010 — for example, by 37 percent in Algeria and 28 percent in Djibouti.
According to the report, the annual number of new HIV infections in the Middle East and North Africa has remained stable since 2010, with an estimated 18,000 people newly infected in 2016.
Trends among countries in the region, however, have varied widely.
Since 2010, there have been substantial decreases in annual new infections in Morocco (42 percent), Iran (14 percent) and Somalia (12 percent).
In contrast, new infections rose by 76 percent in Egypt and 44 percent in Yemen.
Although relatively large increases in new infections occurred between 2010 and 2015 for Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar, the absolute number of new infections remains very small, in part because estimates from these countries are for citizens and exclude temporary migrant workers and other foreign nationals.
The report said that Iran, Sudan and Somalia accounted for about 65 percent of new HIV infections in the region in 2016. An additional 23 percent of new infections occurred in Djibouti, Egypt and Morocco, it added.
There was little change in the number of new HIV infections among children (aged 0–14) in the region between 2010 and 2016.
Most of the newly infected children were in Somalia and Sudan, which together accounted for around two thirds of the total.
The biggest reduction in new infections in children between 2010 and 2016 was in Djibouti, where the integration of services to prevent mother-to-child transmission into maternal and child health programs has been expanded.
— With input from AFP
AIDS deaths in MENA region on the rise, UN report finds
AIDS deaths in MENA region on the rise, UN report finds
Egypt warns against consequences of Israeli escalation in Gaza
- During talks with Ayman Al-Safadi and Fuad Hussein, FM Shoukry said that there would be negative repercussions for regional stability if Israel continued to escalate its activities in Gaza
- Discussions in Manama took place on the sidelines of an Arabian foreign ministers’ meeting being held in preparation for the Arab Summit
CAIRO: Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has warned of dire consequences as a result of Israel escalating its activities in the Gaza Strip.
During talks with his Jordanian and Iraqi counterparts, Ayman Al-Safadi and Fuad Hussein, he also said there would be negative repercussions for the security and stability of the whole region.
The discussion in Manama on Wednesday took place on the sidelines of an Arabian foreign ministers’ meeting being held in preparation for the Arab Summit.
Shoukry talked about Egypt’s efforts to reach an immediate, comprehensive and lasting ceasefire in Gaza and its call for allowing immediate delivery of humanitarian aid.
He also stressed his country’s categorical rejection of any attempts to displace Gazans or kill the Palestinian cause.
He underlined the need to stop targeting civilians, halt Israeli settler violence, and allow aid access in adequate quantities “that meet the needs of our Palestinian brothers.”
During the meeting, Shoukry also reaffirmed Cairo’s support for the stability of Iraq and Jordan and emphasized the importance of implementing directives from the three countries’ leaders to boost cooperation within the framework of the tripartite mechanism.
He said Egypt viewed tripartite cooperation as a way to link the interests of the three countries and maximize common benefits. The discussion also underlined the importance of putting into effect agreed joint projects as soon as possible.
During a separate meeting with Iraqi minister Hussein, Shoukry reiterated the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to develop relations between the two countries in various fields.
The Iraqi minister highlighted close historical ties with Egypt that required continued coordination on the various challenges plaguing the region. Hussein also hailed the key role played by Egypt to bring about an end to the crisis in Gaza.
Houthis claim 2 attacks on ships in Red Sea
- Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said that the militia’s naval forces launched an “accurate” missile strike on the US Navy destroyer USS Mason in the Red Sea
- Statement comes a day after US Central Command said that the USS Mason shot down an incoming anti-ship ballistic missile launched by the Houthis
AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s Houthi militia claimed responsibility on Wednesday for two drone and missile attacks on a US warship and a commercial ship in the Red Sea, vowing to continue striking ships in international seas, mostly near Yemen’s borders, in support of Palestinians.
In a televised broadcast, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said that the militia’s naval forces launched an “accurate” missile strike on the US Navy destroyer USS Mason in the Red Sea, as well as a combined attack on the Destiny in the Red Sea. Sarea did not specify when Houthis forces assaulted the two ships, or if the militia caused any human casualties or damage. The statement comes a day after US Central Command said that the USS Mason shot down an incoming anti-ship ballistic missile launched by the Houthis from areas under militia control in Yemen on Monday evening.
According to marinetraffic.com, which provides information on ship locations and identities, the Destiny is a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier that left Bangladesh’s Port of Chittagong on March 31 and landed at the Saudi Red Sea port of Jeddah on April 17. The Houthis said they attacked the ship when it reached Israel’s Eilat on April 20, defying militia warnings to ships sailing the Red Sea to avoid the port.
The Houthis have sunk one ship, seized another and launched hundreds of ballistic missiles, drones, and explosive-laden drone boats at International commercial and naval ships in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and, more recently, the Indian Ocean. The militia claimed its strikes were intended to push Israel to cease its blockade of the Gaza Strip, and that they targeted US and UK ships after the two nations blasted Houthi-controlled regions of Yemen.
On Tuesday, Houthi media said that jets from the US and the UK had launched four strikes on Hodeidah airport in the Red Sea city, the second round of airstrikes on the same airport this week. The US and UK replied to the Houthi Red Sea campaign by unleashing hundreds of airstrikes on Sanaa, Saada, Hodeidah and other Houthi-controlled Yemeni regions. According to the two nations, the strikes prevented many Houthi missile, drone, or drone boat assaults on ships in international seas while significantly weakening Houthi military capabilities.
The US-led Combined Maritime Forces said on Tuesday that Lebanon and Albania joined the international marine coalition as the 44th and 45th members, respectively. “It is a pleasure to welcome both Lebanon and Albania to the Combined Maritime Forces,” US Navy Vice Admiral George Wikoff, the CMF commander, said in a statement. The Bahrain-based CMF is made up of five task teams that protect major maritime waterways such as the Red Sea and the Bab Al-Mandab Strait.
Netanyahu says he hopes Israel can get aid, overcome US disagreements
- Sources said the US State Department moved a $1 billion weapons aid package for Israel into the congressional review process
WASHINGTON: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped to receive US military aid and to overcome US President Joe Biden’s pause on certain weapons, vowing to fight Hamas without American support amid what he called a disagreement with Washington.
On Tuesday, sources said the US State Department moved a $1 billion weapons aid package for Israel into the congressional review process. Asked in a CNBC interview that aired on Wednesday if he could confirm the $1 billion package movement, Netanyahu declined to say but added that he appreciates US assistance.
Blinken says Israel needs a clear and concrete plan for Gaza’s future
- “We do not support and will not support an Israeli occupation. We also of course, do not support Hamas governance in Gaza...” Blinken said
- Israel says it intends to keep overall security control and has baulked at proposals for the Palestinian Authority to take charge
KYIV: Israel needs a clear and concrete plan for the future of Gaza where it faces the potential for a power vacuum that could become filled by chaos, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.
Washington and its ally Israel say Hamas cannot continue to run Gaza after militants from the group ignited the conflict with attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people on Oct. 7.
“We do not support and will not support an Israeli occupation. We also of course, do not support Hamas governance in Gaza... We’ve seen where that’s led all too many times for the people of Gaza and for Israel. And we also can’t have anarchy and a vacuum that’s likely to be filled by chaos,” Blinken said during a press conference in Kyiv.
The US top diplomat has held numerous talks with Israel’s Arab neighbors on a post-conflict plan for Gaza since Israel vowed to root out Hamas from the Palestinian enclave more than seven months ago.
But Israel says it intends to keep overall security control and has baulked at proposals for the Palestinian Authority, which governs with partial authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to take charge.
“It’s imperative that Israel also do this work and focus on what the future can and must be,” Blinken said. “There needs to be a clear and concrete plan, and we look to Israel to come forward with its ideas.”
Turkiye tells US that Israel’s attack on Rafah unacceptable, Turkish source says
- Fidan also told Blinken that it was important to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible
ANKARA: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his US counterpart Antony Blinken in a call on Wednesday that Israel’s attack on the Gazan city of Rafah is unacceptable, a Turkish diplomatic source said.
Fidan also told Blinken that it was important to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible, while emphasising that obstacles to the access of humanitarian aid into the enclave must be removed, the source said.
