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If a pregnant woman is infected with HIV, she can transmit the virus to her baby during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding. Without treatment, around 15 to 30 per cent of babies born to HIV-infected women will become infected with HIV during pregnancy and delivery. Another ve to 20 per cent will become infected through breastfeeding. at-risk groups. Therefore, even greater eorts need to be made to provide these groups with the tools and resources to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS. According to the director of the Health Ministry's disease control department, Dr Bassam Hijjawi, the total number of Jordanians living with HIV/AIDS is 243. Of all the HIV/ AIDS cases that have been registered in the country since 1986, roughly 30 per cent have been Jordanian and, of these, 22 per cent were infected with the disease inside the Kingdom, while the rest contracted it abroad. Figures also show that the large majority of HIV patients in Jordan are men, unlike in many other parts of the world. All medical laboratories and hospitals in Jordan are required by law to report any cases of highly infectious diseases such as Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV to the Ministry of Health. While the government is responsible for all Jordanian AIDS patients in terms of medical care and the cost of their medication, people of other nationalities who test HIV positive are sent back to their countries for treatment in accordance with international and World Health Organisation (WHO) agreements. an estimated 460,000 people were living with HIV in the AIDS has claimed more than 30 million lives worldwide over the past Middle East and North Africa at the end of 2009, up from 180,000 in 2001. 30 years. See how far weve come in Jordan and how far weve yet to go. Challenges in Jordan This year marks the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS, the human immunodeciency virus (HIV). While the discovery of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy and other advances helped save countless lives, HIV/AIDS is hardly over nor are eorts to ght the epidemic. AIDS in Jordan is currently relatively contained, with a prevalence rate of about .02 per cent. However, estimates suggest that if prevalence is not addressed, that number could increase to over three per cent by 2015. HIV/AIDS continues to be one of the most formidable challenges of our time. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), over 33.3 million adults (half of whom are women) and 2.5 million children in the world were infected with HIV in 2009 twothirds of them in Sub-Saharan Africa. Though the infection can be prevented, HIV transmission continues to occur; The incidence of HIV/AIDS in Jordan is gradually on the rise. In 2005, UNAIDS reported approximately 600 people living with HIV/AIDS. Now, that number has risen to over 800 people, according to gures from the Ministry of Health in Jordan. There is no consensus on the number of people who have died from AIDS-related causes since there is a knowledge gap regarding the actual number of cases. This is because many people, as a result of stigma and discrimination, refuse to get tested. Transmission of HIV in Jordan occurs largely through heterosexual contact, most commonly in individuals between the ages of 15 and 35, with sex workers and drug users being some of the most various media channels to reach both high-risk groups and the population at large. Since the government now assumes responsibility for the treatment of any Jordanian who tests HIV positive, people are more likely to get tested and seek treatment since they do not have to worry about the nancial burden. Despite such improvements, however, challenges remain especially regarding the need to educate people about prevention. Since myths continue to surround the disease and how it is transmitted, there is still a great need to raise awareness and remove the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS.

AIDSn: 30 Years O
By Zeina Sahyoun, MedLabs Laboratories

Women At Risk
Gender inequality is one of the main drivers in the spread of the disease. Here are the latest facts from UNAIDS: HIV is the leading cause of death and disease among women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years old) worldwide. In sub-Saharan Africa, 60% of the individuals living with HIV are women. South Africa also has the worlds largest number of people living with HIV: 5.5 million out of a population of about 48 million. The proportion of women to men living with HIV in Asia rose from 19% in 2000 to 35% in 2008.

Biological factors
Generally, women are at a greater risk of heterosexual transmission of HIV. Biologically, women are twice more likely to become infected with HIV through unprotected heterosexual intercourse than men. Additionally, womens childbearing role means that they have to contend with issues such as the mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Supporting HIV prevention

Jordan has attempted to scale up its response to HIV/AIDS in recent years. To maintain its low HIV prevalence rates and increase access to services for those infected and aected by the disease, the country is using two Global Fund grants to support the expansion of its national HIV/AIDS prevention and care programmes. The Ministry of Health serves as the Principal Recipient for both grants and has overseen the achievement of strong results. The rst grant focuses on strengthening and expanding HIV prevention and care activities. To date, the grant has helped educate over 10,000 youths about HIV prevention methods, distributing more than double the original number of HIV/ AIDS awareness brochures and booklets to this target group. Counselling and testing has also been a vital part of scaling up prevention and treatment eorts within the country. With Global Fund nancing, Jordan was able to open eight new voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) centres, as well as train hundreds of health care workers in how to safely handle blood to prevent contamination and infection. According to the Ministry of Health, the country has been running awareness programmes for at least ten years, using

Violence increases the risk

Country studies indicate that the risk of HIV among women who have experienced violence may be up to three times higher than among those who have not. Women who fear violence are less likely to negotiate for the usage of condoms, seek HIV testing and access treatment. Forced sex also increases the risk of HIV transmission due to tears and lacerations.

Other societal factors

Women more often face barriers in accessing HIV prevention, treatment and care services due to limited decision-making power, lack of control over nancial resources, restricted mobility and child care responsibilities. Many young girls worldwide are forced into marriage and sexual relations, causing health risks such as HIV. Furthermore, a lack of education can prevent women from accessing HIV information and services; illiterate women are four times more likely to believe that there is no way to prevent HIV infection.

World AIDS Day

Getting to Zero is the World AIDS Campaigns theme for this years World AIDS Day, commemorated annually on the rst of December. The new theme, which will be used until 2015, echoes the vision of achieving Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.