Today, the events of the technical meeting on the “Arab anti-AIDS Strategy”, which began yesterday, has continued for the second day, under the auspices of His Excellency the Minister of Health, and Chairman of the Executive Office of the Council of Arab Health Ministers, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah.
Today's discussions, led by Dr. Layla Nejm, the Minister Plenipotentiary and Director of Health and Humanitarian Affairs in the Arab League, revolved around the procedures and actions to be taken in an endeavor to develop the Arab anti-AIDS Strategy. Dr. Layla, on behalf of the Arab League, tackled some opening notes. The Co-Chair of the session, the MOH Undersecretary of Public Health, Dr. Ziad Memish, for his part, enumerated the objectives and outcomes of the meeting, with the participation of the Deputy Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Mrs. Jane Beegle.
Participants in the meeting approved a roadmap and a timetable for developing the strategy, and nominating experts from the member states of the Arab league to form a technical committee tasked with following up the development and implementation of the Arab anti-AIDS Strategy.
The session was meant to introduce participants with the most notable steps of the Arab anti-AIDS Strategy. Besides, Dr. Layla Nejm submitted a roadmap for the development of the Arab anti-AIDS Strategy, as well as a record of the specialties and members of the technical committee.
It is noteworthy, the first day's discussions touched upon the situation of the HIV/AIDS, and the response to its threat in the Arab region, as well as the lessons to be considered when developing the Arab ant-AIDS Strategy. The discussions were chaired by the Director of the Sudanese National Program, and co-chaired by the director of the Regional Arab Network Against AIDS (RANAA), Mr. Elie Aaraj. Participants discussed an analytical report on the situation of the HIV/AIDS, and the response to its threat in the Arab region, identifying commitments and initiatives, as well as the regional and international declarations which could be relied upon as references when developing the Arab anti-AIDS Strategy. The discussion provided, also, a more elaborate, apprehensive account of the AIDS epidemiological status in the whole region.
For her part, the Regional Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, Dr. Renault Graf, gave an overview on the regional report of the HIV/AIDS and responses to it. That's to be added to a panel discussion revolving around the referential guidelines, commitments and initiatives to be considered when developing the Arab anti-AIDS Strategy. Participants in the discussion were: Dr. Hind Al-Shomar (Kuwait), Prof. Abulwahhab Deif (Algeria), Ms. Rita Wahhab (civil society institutions), Dr. Batool Sulaiman Ali (Saudi MOH), in addition to Mr. Samir Anoti, the UNICEF Regional Advisor, who served as the discussion moderator.
During the first day's events, the objectives assigned to the Arab anti-AIDS Strategy were enumerated, in concordance with the UN AIDS Political Declaration 2011. It was chaired by the Chairman of the Qatari Supreme Health Council, Mohammed Al-Hajeri, and co-chaired by Dr. Tarik Al-Azraqi, member of the Saudi anti-AIDS Advisory Committee. Objectives of the Arab anti-AIDS Committee were identified, making sure that such objectives are concordant with the UN AIDS Political Declaration 2011. These objectives were developed and approved by participants in the meeting.
For his part, Dr. Adel Zadam, from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) – Algeria, shed light on the UN AIDS Political Declaration 2011: objectives, commitment, and its relation with the Arab anti-AIDS Strategy.
The meeting included, besides, coordinating working groups for the objectives of the Arab anti-AIDS Strategy, including in their membership Dr. Al-Tayeb Al-Amin (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS), Ms. Yasmin Ref'at (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), Mr. Samir Anoti (UNICEF), Michaela Martini (International Organization for Justice), as well as a representative of the Saudi National anti-AIDS Program. Results and outcomes have been reviewed and discussed.