HIV/AIDS testing centers in 17 governorates, says minister

CAIRO - 20 June 2017: HIV/AIDS counseling and testing services are provided through 14 fixed centers and nine mobile centers in 17 governorates, Minister of Health Ahmed Emad el-Din Rady said last week.

The minister’s statement said there are six governorates which have both fixed and mobile centers, eight governorates with fixed centers only and three governorates with only mobile centers.

Dr. Waleed Kamal, director of the National AIDS Program at the Ministry of Health, said these centers provide services and information to people living with HIV/AIDS and help prevent the spread of the disease through awareness of its seriousness and the causes of infection.

Kamal added that these centers also provide lab tests for those infected or those wishing to be examined, but are to be referred to treatment according to the therapeutic protocols specified by the National Program to combat AIDS.

According to the World Health Organization, Egypt is classified as having “a low epidemic level” for HIV/AIDS. The Ministry of Health and Population in Egypt reported a total of 2,393 cases of HIV/AIDS from 1986 through the end of August 2008, with 1,059 deaths in that period.