Second Newsletter

Dear RANAA Members,

Please find below the second newsletter from RANAA – the Regional / Arab Network against AIDS.

The forth Regional Resource Group (RRG) meeting was held on 21-22 of November in Aïn Soukhna, Egypt. The main objectives of the meeting were to bring additional strategic thinking to the work of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the MENA region and to identify the needs for CSOs action in the region.

Following the 4^th RRG meeting, the Executive Board of RANAA held a meeting on 23^rd of November 2008. The participants mainly discussed the membership, the registration of the Network, and amended the Constitution.

 

The second newsletter includes articles and reports on HIV/AIDS issues, written by colleagues from the MENA region.

 

The next RANAA newsletter awaits your ideas and propositions. Please send us your articles to the following address:

 

contact@ranaa.net

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Symptoms or not, everyone should be tested for HIV

Jad (not his real name) thinks he became infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, two years ago, during a one-night stand with someone he met in a nightclub. ( Read more... )

Global Challenges: Lebanon Holds HIV/AIDS Workshop for Religious Leaders

Lebanon on Monday opened a three-day conference for religious leaders in the country to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS issues, the Daily Star reports. More than 60 participants attended the workshop, which was organized by the United Nations Development Program and the Public Health Ministry. In a statement read by UNDP Country Director Seifeldin Abbaro, UNDP Resident Representative Martha Ruedas said, "Until now, the Arab world had not addressed the issue of HIV/AIDS with enough energy because people were too scared or not sufficiently informed to discuss the disease." She added that the situation is beginning to change, according to the Daily Star. ( Read more... )

Egypt works at removing the stigma Associated With AIDS

The saying “there are two sides to every story” best explains the situation of HIV/AIDS in Egypt. ( Read more... )

Qatar has low rate of Aids cases

A UNITED Nations Development Programme expert on HIV/Aids has urged the private sector in the Arab region to take action against the virus and the disease as failure may cost a lot in the long run. ( Read more... )

Workshop Highlights Need for Positive Perception about HIV

The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) officially inaugurated its fifth season today, unveiling its milestone version of Dubai's favourite cultural event and one that is increasingly prominent on the world stage. ( Read more... )

Qatar has low rate of Aids cases

Despite an alarming increase of cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in the Arab world, Qatar has still a relatively low incidence with 235 cases, according to a report released yesterday by the Qatar National Committee for AIDS Prevention. ( Read more... )

The Price of Silence: HIV/AIDS control in Sudan

As the Government of Sudan (GOS) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) signed the comprehensive peace agreement on January 9, 2005 a new era began in the history of the largest country in Africa, which has been troubled by more than two decades of civil war . Many people are hoping that the new post-conflict administration works hard to find peaceful resolution to the crisis of Darfur. ( Read more... )

FHS holds training workshop on monitoring and evaluating HIV/AIDS programs in MENA region

Under-reporting of HIV/AIDS cases in the MENA region has been preventing researchers and health workers from properly monitoring and evaluating the exact prevalence of the disease, said participants at a special workshop on HIV/AIDS held at AUB September 17-21. ( Read more... )

حملة " من حقّك تعرف عنّو "

في إطار اهتمامات تجمّع المؤسّسات الأهليّة في صيدا عموماً، وفي مجال عمل برنامج مكافحة السيدا في التجمّع خصوصاً ، أتت  فكرة القيام بحملة اعلامية توعوية  واسعة النطاق بعنوان "من حقك تعرف عنو" طالت منطقة صيدا باحيائها و اختتمت بمعرض صحّي لمدة يوم واحد يتوجّه لطلاّب المدارس الثانويّة والجامعات وعامّة الناس ، لرفع مستوى الوعي حول الأمراض المنقولة جنسياً والسيدا، و اثارة تساؤلات تسمح بتعديل بعض السلوكيات و المعتقدات الخاطئة. تخلل المعرض ندوات ومناقشة لأفلام و تقديم خدمة الفحص الطوعي . ( Read more... )

First Newsletter

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Welcome to the first RANAA Newsletter

Dear RANAA Members, Please find below the fist newsletter from RANAA – the Regional Arab Network Against AIDS. The network was established in December 2002. "RANAA" concretizes the commitment of 51 Arab civil society organizations representatives coming from 14 countries including Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen and 5 regional or international organizations, including CAWTAR, IPPF-AWRO, the Arab scout Bureau, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent in unifying and coordinating their action against the spread of HIV-AIDS pandemic within the Arab region. ( Read more... )

Launching the RANAA Website

The RANAA presidency is pleased to inform you that its team launched the official website of the network: www.ranaa.net on Friday October 10th 2008. ( Read more... )

80 % of Arab women HIV victims infected by spouses

DOHA: About 80 per cent of women infected with HIV/AIDS in the Arab world contract the disease from their spouses through legitimate sexual relations, says an anti-AIDS activist from the region. ( Read more... )

Egypt forbids female circumcision

Egypt has announced that it is imposing a complete ban on female circumcision, also known as genital mutilation. ( Read more... )

Rights of AIDS patients under spotlight in Saudi

In Saudi Arabia the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has called on HIV carriers who received unfair treatment from their employers or from the public to come forward and register their cases with the rights body... The process is part of an initiative by the NSHR to gather information from HIV positive persons on the sort of maltreatment they receive in Saudi Arabia due to their condition, according to a 2 January report in Arab News. ( Read more... )

UAE records 35 HIV cases among nationals

The UAE has recorded 35 new HIV cases among its nationals in the first 11 months of 2007, reported Xinhua. The total number of HIV cases among UAE nationals now stands at 734. There are no statistics on how many expatriates have the virus, because anyone who is found to be infected is sent back to their home country immediately. Official records state that the UAE population is 4.6 million, of which 21.9 per cent are native. ( Read more... )

MENA Booth at the Global Village-Mexico

The Soins Infirmiers Et Développement Communautaire (SIDC) is a Non Governmental Organization established in Lebanon since 1987. SIDC is actively engaged in the field of HIV/AIDS and harm reduction in Lebanon since 1994. SIDC was in charge of preparing the Middle East North Africa (MENA) Booth at the Global Village organized during the XVII International AIDS Conference, at Centro Banamex- Mexico city from 3 to 8 August 2008. To read the entire article, please download the attached document. ( Read more... )

Accept the rest

It was a hot summer day, and my Doctor called to tell me I needed to come see her. My mind raced, and I kept going over all the reasons why she would possibly want to see me. I knew she had run an HIV test, but I kept telling myself, "No, that can't be it. I do not take risks. I have done all the 'right' things. It just can't be it." When I got to the Doctor's office she walked in and gave me the news. I did not believe her. I asked about the possibility of a mistake. I was in shock. I remember her saying, “I know this is hard news, but the medications are advanced now..." Honestly, that is about all I remember. To read the entire article, please follow this URL link: http://www.ranaa.net/index.pl/discussion_board?wid=249&func=viewSubmission&sid=678 ( Read more... )