‘Some people refuse to even listen (to information) about the disease. ‘We’re good and religious people, what do we have to do with AIDS? This is for other people.’’
— NASR EL-SAYED
National AIDS Control Program

 NOW, HE SAYS he would rather kill himself than tell his secret. He won’t allow his name to be used for fear of being rejected by family and friends who think of the disease as synonymous with sin and shame.
       The Egyptian engineer’s reluctance to speak out is typical. In other places in the world, sports heroes and film stars have spoken publicly about having HIV — the virus that causes AIDS — as a way to educate the public. But in the Arab countries, silence remains the norm.
       As does ignorance. Some strict interpretations of Islamic prohibitions against premarital sex, adultery and homosexuality, coupled with stern conservative traditions means that publicly discussing sex - let alone educating people about it - is taboo.
       Many argue that Islamic strictures on sex will protect Arab countries from an AIDS epidemic. But experts say the number of cases in Arab countries is far greater than reported. In Egypt, the United Nations estimate of HIV-positive cases is nearly 10 times the official number.

       The engineer said that had he known how AIDS was transmitted - he believes he was infected during homosexual sex - he would have been more cautious.
       Nasr el-Sayed, director of the government’s National AIDS Control Program, often encounters such ignorance. Even some doctors, he said, don’t believe AIDS can strike in Egypt, with 65 million people the Arab world’s most populous country.
       “Some people refuse to even listen (to information) about the disease. ‘We’re good and religious people, what do we have to do with AIDS? This is for other people,’ they argue,” said el-Sayed, whose office was established in 1986, the year the first AIDS case was reported in Egypt.

       El-Sayed said his office’s seminars, lectures and pamphlets have made Egyptians more aware of the dangers of AIDS, but they still have much to learn.
       
CASES GO UNREPORTED
       Because of the stigma, many cases go unreported. Egyptian officials say they have recorded only 928 HIV-positive cases, but admit that is likely well below the real number. The United Nations estimated that by the end of 1999, some 8,100 Egyptians were infected with HIV.
       Egypt’s situation is typical of Arab countries. Saudi Arabia doesn’t even have an official estimate of HIV-positive cases. In Yemen, the Health Ministry says the actual number is much higher than the 1,200 cases recorded in the year 2000. Jordan is trying to educate the public about AIDS, but ads and leaflets stop short of discussing safe sex.
       Misconceptions about the disease persist even in countries where officials consider public awareness high. In Kuwait, people remain fearful of AIDS patients and do not want to mix with them, said Rashed al-Owaysh, the country’s director of public health.
       Egypt’s Health Ministry launched an AIDS hot line in 1996, advertising it through leaflets and posters at subway stations and on buses. The hot line gets an average of 1,000 calls a month.

       “It’s really tragic how women are unable to negotiate their own protection in wedlock or outside it,” said Jihane Tawilah, the World Health Organization’s regional adviser on sexually transmitted diseases.
       The engineer, who lives with his mother and siblings, said he is resisting the usual family pressures to get married because he doesn’t want to infect anyone. He is fearful his condition may be discovered because he has lost so much weight.
       “I just pray that God ends my life as soon as possible before more symptoms show,” he said. “I don’t want to create problems for my family.”