Managing Change in the Middle East and Northern Africa ( MENA) Ongoing and Emerging T rends

Managing Change in the Middle East

and Northern Africa ( MENA)

Ongoing and Emerging Trends

ByDr. Arash Alaei, Dr. Kamiar Alaei, Alex Klein

and Munis Safajou

SUNY AlbanyGlobal Institute of Health and Human Rights

2

The Middle East and Northern Africa

Afghanistan United Arab Emirates Iraq West Bank and Gaza Saudi Arabia Sudan RegionKuwaitTunisia

LebanonIran

Morocco

Turkey

Oman Egypt

PakistanYemen

Qatar Libya

IsraelSomalia

JordanBahrain

Algeria Djibouti

30,55238,289

1,131939

84,666

76,521

35,095

7,309

3,459

4,822

6,5183,2953,983

190,7094,4212,169

30,05410,3839,782

34,18621,898

10,882 76,083 9,346 25,235

Population of MENA in millions(2013)

AfghanistanAlgeriaBahrainDjiboutiEgyptIranIraqJordanKuwaitLebanonLibyaMoroccoOmanPakistanPalestinian Ter-ritoryQatarSaudi ArabiaSomaliaSouth SudanSudanSyriaTunisiaTurkeyUnited Arab EmiratesYemen

Dozens of religious and ethnic groups. Hundreds of languages.

Total: 720 Million People

3

Against the Global Trend

Globally, rates of new HIV infection are down 31% over the past 10 years.

MENA countries has seen an increase of over 50% in that same period.

~270,000 4

Global

2001: 1.9 million

2005: 2.3 million

2012: 1.6 million

AIDS Related Deaths

5

6

Systemic Lack of

Treatment

Only 8% of infected women receive treatment to prevent mother to child

transmission

Less than 1/8 of those eligible for ART treatment

received it in Egypt, Djibouti, Iran, Somalia,

and Sudan

17,000/160,000 of those eligible

7

Intravenous Drug User(IDU)

IDUs –primary means of HIV transmission between at risk and the general population.Despite this – lack of appropriate programs

In an unrelated study in Libya, 85% of people who inject drugs reported sharing needles. OF these 87% had HIV.

8

9

Female Sex Worker(FSW)

• Bridges between at risk population and the more general populace.

• Historically, low levels of HIV infection, less than 5 % • Morocco 2%- responsible for half of new HIV

infections

• Localized Epidemics of HIV have been found among FSW in Djibouti ( 15.4%), Libya (15.7%), Somalia, and Southern Sudan10

ConclusionInterdisciplinary Approach – Step Up The Pace

• Religion• Culture• Politics• Finance

11