Each year, Egypt commemorates World AIDS Day on 1 December through a nationwide advocacy campaign aimed at raising awareness about HIV/AIDS.
This year, and as part of the campaign which has been successful in previous years in mobilising different parties to combat the negative stigma that still prevails around the disease, the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in Egypt has signed a protocol of cooperation with two of the most popular radio stations in the country, Nile FM and Nogoum FM.
The two stations will be official partners of the national campaign to fight HIV/AIDS in 2016, which is launched by the UN programme and Egypt’s national HIV programme which is under the aegis of the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population.
The main aim of the protocol is to spread awareness and eliminate the negative stigma surrounding those suffering from the disease.
According to a global report released by UNAIDS, the number of new HIV infections in 2015 was estimated to be 2.1 million.
The latest statistics issued from UNAIDS Egypt in 2014 indicate that the number of registered people living with HIV inside Egypt is almost 8,800. The estimated number of people living with HIV including those who aren't registered is 11,000.
Egypt is still experiencing an annual rise in the number of new infections.
