EGYPT: Free drugs for HIV-positive people

People living with HIV/AIDS in Egypt will begin receiving free antiretroviral drugs as part of a new governmental initiative, Agence France-Press has reported.

The announcement made by Health Minister Mohammed Awad Tag Eddin coincided with the recent start of a national AIDS awareness campaign, launched despite the relatively small number of HIV-positive people in the country.

Eddin said two out of every one million people tested HIV-positive each year, and there were no more than 650 HIV-positive people in Egypt.

The Ministry of Health and Population, although denying the existence of the disease in the country during the mid-1990s, established the country's first HIV/AIDS centre and a telephone hotline.

Theme (s): Care/Treatment - PlusNews, Other,

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