Fighting Stigma: People Living with HIV / AIDS

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Gamma Delta Chapter of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health at the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) at AUB, held its first public health event in collaboration with FHS and Soins Infirmiers et Développement Communautaire (SIDC) on November 28, 2018.

The event was a seminar, part of the weekly FHS seminars, titled “Fighting Stigma and Discrimination towards People Living with HIV/AIDS”. It was the first seminar to have three different speakers and perspectives discussing HIV. The event started with Ms. Nadia Badran, Programs Manager at SIDC, who spoke about HIV/AIDS in Lebanon, the stigma and discrimination faced by vulnerable key populations, and highlighting the work of SIDC in terms of prevention, human rights violation documentation and response, and service provision. Lawyer Nermine Sibai, SIDC’s legal consultant, discussed the laws related to people living with HIV/AIDS, emphasizing that there is no protective law for people living HIV/AIDS in Lebanon, leading to more stigma and discrimination in the health care sector and in the community. She also stated that there are no guidelines or protocols to implement the confidentiality and non-discrimination policy in the Lebanese law, reminding us of the recent case of the Tattoo artist that was arrested by the ISF about a month ago when his HIV positive status was revealed to the public.

The seminar concluded with Ms. Fadia Habib from MENA Rosa, which is the only NGO in Lebanon and the Middle East and North Africa taking care of women living with HIV/AIDS. Her presentation was about a regional project, including Lebanon that interviewed women across the region. 

A number of FHS students and faculty, as well as other colleagues from AUB and AUB-Medical Center, attended the talk.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]