Under the direction of the MoH, representatives of the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD), the private health sector and other health authorities in the country have been included in the committee, and it will provide workers in various healthcare facilities with guidelines to ensure prevention from HIV infection.

Dr Nada Al Marzouqi, in an interview with Khaleej Times, said this new national strategy aims to involve the various health sectors in order to efficiently implement HIV awareness and prevention programmes on a national level, and to face the challenges of living in an interconnected world.

“The UAE has one of the lowest number of reported HIV/Aids cases in the world, and there is no current increase in the cases of HIV infection,” stressed Dr Al Marzouqi.

The number of people living with Aids in the country was recorded at 540 by the end of 2006, and the number of people infected each year is estimated to be 35, according to Dr Marzouqi.

She explained that although a national unified strategy is still in the early stages, the National Programme for Aids Control and Prevention (NPACP) existed in the country since 1985 to prevent transmission of the disease and control its import into the country through primary prevention, early detection and effective management.

“The main objective of the NPACP programme when it first started in 1985 was the screening of blood, blood products, organs, and tissues before transfusion or transplantation. No cases of transmission through blood or blood products have been recorded since the programme’s inception,” she said.

“Today HIV testing is provided in various clinics across the country, and it is also performed as part of premarital testing for infectious diseases,” added Dr Al Marzouqi.