HIV/AIDS In Iraq: Problems Being Faced
Problem 1: Lack of Health Awareness
The number of cases of HIV/AIDS in Iraq has actually decreased over the years. In 2010 there were 12 cases, and in 2011 there were 11, with the majority of these located in Baghdad. However, these STDs still exist in this country, which can be seen as a problem. The reason for this problem is that there are still people that need to be educated about HIV/AIDS prevention. To completely eradicate HIV/AIDS from Iraq, the efforts to provide national education and communication programs must increase. By promoting knowledge of legitimate prevention methods, misconceptions will be reduced and the diseases will not be spread. |
Problem 2: Percentage of Educated Women (Rural vs. Urban)
According to www.undp.org, "The percentage of women aged 15-49 years who know that having one faithful uninfected sex partner and using a condom every time, are two ways of preventing HIV transmission is very low, with significant differences between the urban and rural areas." To put this into perspective, only 12% of women living in rural Iraq have knowledge about the prevention methods for HIV/AIDS, while in urban areas 22% of women could identify the two methods of prevention. The reason for this is that women in rural areas do not have access to health education material as readily as urban dwellers do. The solution to this problem is simple but might take time to implement (depending on resources): volunteers/doctors need to take the time to visit these rural areas of the country and educate women about prevention methods, so they will not have a disadvantage because of where they live. |
Source: http://www.iq.undp.org/content/iraq/en/home/mdgoverview/