{"id":2549,"date":"2011-01-11T09:14:15","date_gmt":"2011-01-11T05:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/?p=2549"},"modified":"2011-01-11T09:17:06","modified_gmt":"2011-01-11T05:17:06","slug":"saudi-arabia-aids-and-the-opening-up-of-the-kingdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/middle-east-society\/saudi-arabia-aids-and-the-opening-up-of-the-kingdom\/","title":{"rendered":"Saudi Arabia: Aids, and the Opening Up of the Kingdom"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Some things are actually changing and opening up in the Kingdom.\u00a0 Aids, for example, had been one of the subjects that was not typically discussed or reported upon within the Kingdom.\u00a0 Facts and figures were difficult to obtain.\u00a0 Aids patients were generally kept isolated and to many, viewed as untouchables.<\/p>\n

Yet in the past week, a friend of mine, Amber Shahid, was able to meet and interview<\/a> a Saudi couple at the Saudi Charity Association for Aids Patients<\/a> (SCAAP).\u00a0 Yes, she met and interviewed a Saudi couple who both were HIV positive.\u00a0 Amber wrote a touching and compassionate article about this couple and the kind of life they live as HIV positive as well as addressing the issue of Aids in the Kingdom. I have to give Amber much credit for it is not anyone who can enter into a facility and ask a Saudi couple sensitive questions in a many that is respectful and sensitive yet write the article delivering the facts without allowing internal emotions to cloud the story that needs to be told.<\/p>\n

Much credit and courage must also be given to Umm Yasir and Abu Yasir for their willingness to come out and speak with an expatriate journalist on how they reacted to the initial diagnosis and now live day-to-day knowing they are both HIV positive.\u00a0 Yet by speaking out they help to remove the stigmas that are associated with the phrase \u201cHe\/She has Aids!\u201d That\u2019s not to say that the couple has not faced challenges or isolation from Saudi society.\u00a0 They have. \u00a0The good news is that both Umm Yasir and Abu Yasir are able to receive medication from the Ministry of Health which is allowing them to live a normal life.<\/p>\n

Aids is most commonly passed from one person to another through intimate contact.\u00a0 However it must be pointed out that intimate contact is NOT the only way an individual can become HIV positive.\u00a0 An individual can become infected with AIDS through tainted blood or being injected with a needle that had been previously used.\u00a0 Individuals are to be tested for AIDS before their blood is donated but it has been documented that some individuals have contracted AIDS by receiving tainted blood during an infusion.\u00a0 Drug users have been known to share and reuse needles which have resulted in the passage of AIDS.<\/p>\n

SCAAP in Jeddah is reaching out to inform the Saudi society on AIDS awareness and prevention campaigns.\u00a0 It also treats HIV positive patients, providing medication, psychiatric counseling, small stipend and food baskets.\u00a0 Like any charitable organization, donations are always needed.\u00a0 Those interested may make a donation to SCAAP at SABB account 031151616001.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AMERICAN BEDU: Things are changing and opening up in the Kingdom: Aids, for example, had been one of the subjects that was not discussed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":2554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[297,90,5],"tags":[298,18329,3640,366,3638,18275],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2549"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}