About a third of AIDS patients in Morocco are unaware of their condition

In Morocco, the Association for the Fight Against AIDS (ALCS) found that the number of people living with HIV / AIDS was 20,000 and that 28% were unaware of the disease.

At a conference on Tuesday night, the association, which specializes in educating citizens about the danger and prevention of disease, announced the launch of its ninth national awareness campaign from May 1st to 31 December under the slogan "AIDS is still here".

The figures show that the incidence of the disease is spread almost equally between women and men in Morocco and that young people are the most affected, especially between 15 and 24 years, which brought the Assembly to focus on the new campaign.

"The new campaign (Sidaxion 2018) completes the path taken by previous campaigns, which combined efforts and a pool of donations," said association president Mehdi al-Karkouri. Develop the AIDS program in Morocco. "

"The AIDS plan is ambitious, but it takes a lot of effort, the cooperation of partners and actors from different agencies to launch scientific research, and this requires material support in the form of donations, but this is not enough. is not enough given the weakness of national and international funding. "

"The news of my injury was a shock that exceeded my father's death," he said. I'm hesitant about any of the associations active in the field of AIDS prevention. The news was widespread and I had only to inform the family of the truth. "

The young man says he can not describe the shock that shook his parents and brothers before the news spread between neighbors and friends, which made him live for months as a "pariah". .

The most negative perception of society in relation to the disease is the most difficult thing for a patient suffering from AIDS in Morocco, "he said.

The Association for the Fight Against AIDS (ADA) has taken this reality into account by calling on all sectors to fight against discrimination against HIV carriers.