Afghanistan United Arab Emirates Iraq West Bank and Gaza Saudi Arabia Sudan Region KuwaitTunisia LebanonIran MoroccoTurkey OmanEgypt PakistanYemen QatarLibya IsraelSomalia JordanBahrain Algeria Djibouti 2

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

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 6

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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

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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 Sudan 10

Conclusion Interdisciplinary Approach – Step Up The Pace Religion Culture Politics Finance 11