LOC19:03
16:03 GMT
KUWAIT, Dec 1 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's national strategy for prevention and response to HIV/AIDS, which the Health Ministry has been keen to update in line with global counterparts, has achieved positive results, the ministry said on the occasion of World AIDS Day.
Kuwait was one of the first countries to have developed a special law for the prevention and response to HIV/AIDS, which reflects positively on its global classification as a low prevalence country, according to World Health Organisation reports, ministry spokesman Abdullah Al-Sanad said.
Law number 62 of 1992 harmonizes societal rights and the rights of the infected individual, preserving their privacy, the confidentiality of their information and their right to receive appropriate health care, he revealed.
The ministry has formed a high-level, multidisciplinary national committee for the prevention and response to HIV/AIDS, which includes leading healthcare professionals and experts, tasked with developing and updating strategies for awareness, action plans and technical information.
The ministry is also keen to support the rights of AIDS patients and limit the transmission of infection through the issuance of a separate law offering medical examinations ahead of marriage.
The country also regularly coordinates with the World Health Organization, UNESCO and the United Nations Development Programme, to benefit from their expertise and update its national strategy and cooperates with the Education Ministry to integrate domestic prevention and response awareness at schools. (end)
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