Meet to discuss family’s role in preventing Aids Monday, 31 October 2011 02:09

DOHA: Thought leaders, NGOs and representatives of Ministries of Health throughout the Arab world will gather here to discuss the role of family in preventing the spread of Aids.

A two-day event-Qatar Symposium on Family, the Millennium Goals and Aids in the Middle East region-  organised by Doha International Institute for Family Studies and Development (DIIFSD) in cooperation the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) will open here tomorrow.  

Bringing together leading academics, NGOs and government representatives, the symposium, at Grand Hyatt, intends to explore the role of Arab families in response to HIV and their impact on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). 2015 had previously been set as a deadline for achieving many of the MDG’s targets, and this symposium will discuss ways of helping attain those goals in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Topics of conversation will include HIV responses and health integration, eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV, raising awareness to curb the spread of HIV and Aids among young adults, de-stigmatizing Aids to minimise discrimination and the roles of family, poverty, migration and unemployment on the spread of HIV/Aids.

DIIFSD’s involvement in the event is in keeping with its mandate of upholding the commitments of the Doha Declaration, and is in-line with Qatar Foundation’s (QF) goals of fostering a progressive society and addressing immediate societal needs.

“Family focused policies must be among the priority responses to the HIV/Aids epidemics, family specific data and indicators as well as identifying trends among young people are needed,” said Amina Mesdoua, Director of the Family Policy Division at DIIFSD and organiser of the event.

The symposium brings together stakeholders from various fields, including senior experts from Arab governments, the UN, The League of Arab States, civil society and academics to discuss this and other major topics, with the hope of reaching a number of recommendations in the form of a strategy that can be implemented moving forward.

The gathering also aims to promote a greater understanding of the HIV/AIDS situation in the region, and is actively encouraging not only direct stakeholders, but also the general public, to attend the event.

“HIV is a reality in the Middle East and it is our responsibility to help find an integrated way of responding to this issue. The family unit lies at the heart of Arab society, and it should play a significant role in eliminating the spread of this disease and achieving the MDGs,” said Mesdoua.

The Peninsula

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