Aids under control in Oman, claims official

Muscat: Well-planned preventive measures have helped Oman keep the rate of HIV/Aids patients very low, said a top official at the Ministry of Health (MOH).

"The disease is under control in Oman," Dr Ali Ahmad Baomar, Director of National Aids Prevention Department, told Gulf News yesterday, which is marked as World AIDS Day. "The country can take pride in not only prevention but also care and quality management of the disease," he said.

The first HIV/Aids case was discovered in Oman in 1984 and since then 1,300 cases have been registered. "Around 900 victims are still alive and active, pointing to the care provided in Oman," he said, adding that some patients who contracted the virus from their mothers were as old as 23 and studying. "One in every 10,000 Omanis has tested positive but despite the low rate our efforts continue relentlessly." According to the 2003 Census, the population of Oman is 1,779,318.

State aid

Talking of the MOH support programme, Dr Ali said: "We have a toll free number (800711711) for those seeking counselling."

The ministry also provides free of charge expensive medicines like Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART).

"The government also provides financial aid to those suffering from HIV/AIDS and are unemployed," he said. The victims are even given transport money to come to Muscat for treatment.

Awareness was also being created so that young Omanis come forward for voluntary testing of the virus. Dr Ali added that pregnant women carriers are also taken extra care of and efforts are taken to ensure that the virus is not transmitted to the child.

Sexual transmission was the major cause for HIV in Oman followed by drug abuse, he said. "We hardly get one or two cases where the virus is transferred from mother to child," he said.

The number of drug-related cases has come down and some of the former users are working to spread the message of the dangers of drug abuse. For the last 10 years there has been not a single case of HIV acquired through blood transfusion in Oman.

The World Health Organisation theme for World AIDS Day 2005 is 'Stop AIDS. Make the Promise'. Eastern Mediterranean Region has 715,000 people living with HIV of which 92,000 show new infections.