Articles on HIV/AIDS and HARPAS activities

• “ El seyasey “ Yemani Newspaper released a news item on the 19th of June 2008 regarding the participants endorsement who attended a national AIDS preventive legislators & PLWH rights advocacy of a draft legislation to respond to AIDS & protect the rights of PLWH.
  The draft is expected to be presented in the Yemeni parliament in the very near future. Yemen will be the 3th Arab State to draft such law following Djibouti & Sudan. El seyasey article
• The Tunisian magazine Realities “ El Hakaaik” allocated some articles to covering the Training workshop for mobilizing the Tunisian religious leaders to fight against HIV /AIDS, which was held May 14st to 16th 2008 in Tunis, Tunis.El Hakaaik 1 -- El Hakaaik 2
• The Lebanese Al Saafir newspaper allocated a full page to covering the Training Workshop for Artists, Bloggers and the Independent Media Community in the Response to AIDS in the Arab Region, which was held May 5-8, 2008 in Cairo, Egypt. You can read the article in the attached Pdf and also on the Al Saafir website.
• The Bahraini Al Wakt newspaper conducted an interview with “Aicha,” one of the many people living with HIV in the Arab region. The interview was held during the Training Workshop for Artists, Bloggers and the Independent Media Community in the Response to AIDS in the Arab Region, which was held May 5-8, 2008 in Cairo, Egypt. You can read the article in the attached Pdf and also on the Al Wakt website.
• The countries of the Middle East and North Africa are mobilising in response to Aids 6 Dec. 2007 (French)
• Fight against Aids "should involve those most at risk", Gulfnews, 17 Nov. 2007
• UNDP/Reuters train 35 press journalist on HIV, La Nation, 26 Sept. 2007 (French)
• The Arab woman faces "AIDS", Masri al-Youm, 19 Sept. 2007 (Arabic)
• PLWH establish advocacy network in the community, al-Ghad, 22 Sept. 2006 (Arabic)

UNDP/HARPAS Press Releases

• December News 2007 Gulf
• December News 2007 Horn of Africa
• December News 2007 The Maghreb
• December News 2007 West Asia
• Press Release UNAIDS, "The 2007 AIDS epidemic update",19 Nov. 2007
• Press Release "Love life" television docu-drama, 16 August 2007
• Press Release Religious Leaders Forum, 9 Nov. 2006 (English)
• Press Release Religious Leaders Forum, 9 Nov. 2006 (Arabic)

" Towards a Religious Media Protecting the Rights of People Living with HIV"

HARPAS held a regional workshop in Cairo (29 Nov.- 2 Dec. 2007) for religious media professionals entitled :" Towards a Religious Media Protecting the Rights of People Living with HIV".
The workshop was attended by 70 media professionals from various Arab states (Journalists, TV anchors..etc). The focus of this workshop was on the AIDS facts and reality in the Arab Region, the role of media in general and religious media in particular in producing fact-based, and positive messages about HIV and PLWH to productively respond to AIDS epidemic in the region, and root causes of the spread of AIDS in the region (Stigma and Discrimination).

Development of Legislations Protecting and Promoting the Rights of People Living with HIV
Sub-Regional Workshop for the Horn of Africa, 28th-31st May 2007, Khartoum , Sudan .

The event gathered about 50 parliamentarians from the Horn of Africa ( Djibouti , Sudan - Northern and Southern, Somalia and Yemen ).
The objective of the workshop was to train a critical mass of parliamentarians on the rights of PLWH, aiming at establishing a sustainable framework for the enactment of national laws on the protection of PLWH as well as at the definition of a possible regional instruments protecting the rights of HIV-positive people.

According to the participants themselves, the workshop has had a positive impact on them - with tangible results on a personal, educational, and professional level.

Heated debates on issues such as the most appropriate policies to stop the epidemic and the fundamental rights of PLWH showed the importance and the need of trainings for parliamentarians working in the region of the Horn of Africa.

A Discussion Panel was held in Al Ein El Sokhna (20-23rd) of April, entitled “Reproductive Health and Human rights”. The panel was co-sponsored by the National Institution for Fertility Care and the Egyptian Society for Law and Medicine in Alexandria. The panelists included a group of health, law, science experts and religious leaders. Prof. Hussam Badrawi, Prof. Ezz El Deen Uthmaan, and Prof. Mahmoud Fathallah represented the medical point view, while Dr. Fattooh El Chazly and Dr. Khayri El Kabbash represented the legal point of view. Among the contributors, were Mr. Mohamed Kamal El deen; a Muslim religious leader, among leaders of non-governmental organizations, and a number of Muslim and Christian religious leaders. Media leaders also participated in the panel sponsored by the Ford institution. The panelists discussed a few important issues like the relationship between reproductive health on one hand and medicine, law, ethics, and human rights on the other hand. They also discussed female genital mutilation, and the reproductive health of women living with HIV.
The panel extended for three days, and it concluded its discussions with a few recommendations notably:

1. The necessity of endorsing the model of legislation
2. Preparing a training manual for religious leaders regarding health issues, similar to the HARPAS sponsored Islamic and Christian manuals for religious leaders, to familiarize them with reproductive health issues, and emphasizing the role of religion in supporting such cause.

Dr. Khadija Moalla ; Regional coordinator of the HIV/AIDS Programme in the Arab States , and Dr. Ehab El Kharrat ;HARPAS Senior Technical Advisor along with the Deputy Director of Algeria UNDP country office, Mr. Dirk Buberg met with a delegation from the Algerian Senate to discuss the urgency of modifying existing laws, or issuing new ones to protect the rights of PLWH.
The Algerian delegation was represented by 16 members of the Algerian Parliament upper room headed by former culture minister and renouned journalist Dr. Mohyee El Deen Omaymoor, currently a prominent member of the parliament.

The meeting was very fruitful, and all attendees have positively responded to the functions of the session, participated in all topics of discussion, and listened to stories of PLWH.
Attendees emphasized having a future sub-regional workshops to address modifying existing laws in Algeria regarding PLWH.

In coordination with UNDP-Bahrain, and the ministry of religious affairs in Bahrain, HARPAS conducted a national workshop for religious leaders, attended by 135 men and women Leaders.
For the first time, Both Sunnis and Shia’s have gathered in such numbers to discuss issues related to AIDS.
Dr. Sumayya El Gawdar ;Head of AIDS national program in Bahrain expressed content with the functions of the workshop entitled “Leadership for Results”, especially in overcaming religious and sectarian barriers by uniting every one in responding to AIDS as a major threat to the entire human race.

The Sudan National Aids Programme’s leaders headed by Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Hafeez; director of Sudan’s National AIDS Programme positively responded to HARPAS mission in its visit to Sudan. SNAP’s leaders showed interest in widening horizons of cooperation with HARPAS at national and regional levels.

Both Dr. Khadija Moalla ; Regional coordinator for the HIV/AIDS Programme in the Arab States , and Dr. Ehab Al Kharrat ; HARPAS Senior Programme Advisor participated in reviewing and drafting a law protecting the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS and its prevention.
This project is endorsed by UNICEF in coordination with UNDP Country office. A sub-regional workshop was held in Khartum, Sudan (28-31 May) with 50 parliamentarians from the Horn of Africa in order to address the urgency to modify laws concerning AIDS related issues in the sub-region (i.e. Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, and Djibouti).