Model+UN

United Nations.

Iraq HIVAIDS Information

resources [|Wikipedia on AIDS in Iraq] [|Stigma of AIDS in Iraq Article] [|AIDS victims were Quarantined under Saddam] [|quarantine description] []
 * [|United Nations At a Glance]
 * [|HIV/AIDS information]
 * [|Iraq Research Table]
 * What is the problem? How does it affect your country?
 * AIDS/HIV
 * 44 people reported it -- but many dont because of fear of losing jobs, stigma, etc
 * What has your country done to combat the problem?
 * "low key awareness campaign"
 * 11 centers for treatment and testing, free anonymous testing
 * What are the various “sides” in the debate?
 * progressive vs. traditional shunning of infected patients
 * Which aspects of the issue are most important to your country?
 * If your country is not involved with the issue, how can it become involved?
 * How will your country shape the debate at the conference?
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; background-position: 0px 5px; color: #000000; list-style-type: none; margin: 1.6em 0px 1.6em 14px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 14px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">What arguments will other countries make?
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; background-position: 0px 5px; color: #000000; list-style-type: none; margin: 1.6em 0px 1.6em 14px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 14px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">How do the positions of other countries affect your country’s position?
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; background-position: 0px 5px; color: #000000; list-style-type: none; margin: 1.6em 0px 1.6em 14px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 14px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Is there evidence or statistics that might help to back up your country’s position?
 * to be hiv positive means social isolation & even death due to violent religious extremists who see the positive test results as proof of indecent behavior
 * Some 482 cases have been detected since 1986. Of these, 272 were Iraqis and the rest foreigners. Today only 44 are still alive
 * Health Ministry’s public health directorate is responsible for combating HIV/AIDS, encourages people to get tested and provided free medical aid to people who are positive
 * these positive patients get the equivalent of $85 a month from the government, people infected in 1985 get $200 extra monthly
 * 11 medical centers in Baghdad to provide treatment and one in each center. "They get free monthly check-ups; their partners are examined every three months, and other family members are checked every six months"
 * 1985 hiv/aids came to Iraq in 1985 from contaminated blood from a French company
 * low-key awareness campaign: dont want to trigger "anxiety and panic" because of controversial nature of disease -- but there is now mor eeducation and a hotline for info, posters, workshops
 * ministry provides combination of 3 drug therapy
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">HIV positive patients fear social outcasting and violence - 2006 murder

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Dr. Wisan Shaker, 47, who has worked in the HIV-AIDS unit at Baghdad's Infectious Disease Control Center since 2001, says the Health Ministry is setting up awareness programs in Iraqi schools. But a United Nations Children's Fund survey earlier this year reported that roughly 70 percent of a sample group of young Iraqis said they had never heard of HIV or AIDS and did not know how the disease was transmitted.

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 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Position Paper **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">AIDS/HIV is a serious global issue, and one that we feel should be met with preventitive measures such as aid to developing countries and more education.AIDS is still a problem, even with all of the resources such as drugs that almost eliminate the possibility of death It is vital that the comittee should address this topic because our country is struggling to treat infected individuals. We do not have the resources to do so, and we have resorted to deporting infected foreigners because we simply cannot help them. Our country cares about the topic because we feel that we want to ensure the safety of the public, especially since the numbers of infected people have increased since the fall of Saddam Hussein. However, it is difficult to combat cultural ignorance about AIDS because sex is such a tabboo topic in our country, although it is the primary way of transmitting AIDS here. Our country's policy on the subject is to provide as much money and drugs that we can for infected individuals, especially those infected from the tainted blood transfusion from 1985. AIDS is an issue in Iraq, because the public is ignorant about the disease since it is considered tabboo. Those who are infected do not report it to the government due to fear of the stigma, which often causes job loss and isolation. These infected individuals are spreading the virus, mainly sexually, and thus cases are increasing, but keeping records of AIDS is difficult because of extremist groups in our country. We cannot even identify to people who need help, much less gather the necessary resources to help them such as drugs. Also, our focus is on national security, so we cannot allot many resources, financial or otherwise, to this issue. Infected individuals, under the old regime, were quarantined and not treated, and eventually died. In Iraq, many people feel that contracting AIDS is evidence of sin, and therefore infected individuals are constantly in danger because of extremist groups. However, we are slowly and quietly trying to spread awareness, providing free testing & treatment centers as well as some education in schools. Our Iraqi Health Ministry officials visited Jordan to observe the way they are combating AIDS. However, we have not taken any formal steps to support policies on AIDS because at the moment national security is our priority. We did release a statement in conjunction with, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations Population Fund saying that the low prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Iraq could increase dramatically if unified actions are not taken and preventive measures put in place to keep the deadly disease in check. Because we do not have the resources, financial or otherwise, to help Iraqis and foreigners with aids, we request to receive extra aid from the United Nations Children's Fund to support an AIDS education program for schools. Seventy percent of our country's youth admitted in a United Nations Children's Fund survey that they had never heard of HIV/AIDS and had no idea how it was spread. We have been receiving emergency aid from UNICEF, but an extra allotment of money for an AIDS education program and other preventitive measures would be helpful. The issue could be resolved if we were to receive aid and supplies for the prevention of HIV through education and public service announcements. We would like to focus on prevention because our rates of new cases are increasing. There is no way we could realistically fund free treatment programs for all of our AIDS patients, especially because people are afraid to report that they are infected, making it difficult to identify who even needs the help. Preventitive measures would be the best use of any resources we can receive internationally.

ISSUES RELATED TO AIDS
 * education / Literacy
 * Improvement of Services --> treatment --> doctors, nurses
 * Rights of Women, Availability of Contraception (Dev. Countries / Strongly Male Dom)
 * Role of the Government vs. AID organizations, acknowledgement that theres a problem, data
 * Religious & Cultural Obstacles
 * Immigration / Migration -- Movement of People
 * Cost of Drugs
 * mothers & children vs. drug users
 * human rights

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