The Ministry of Health (MOH) represented by the Directorate General for Disease Surveillance & Control in collaboration with the Directorate General of Private Health Establishments organized today Tuesday a workshop on ‘HIV in the Private Sectors at the Holiday hotel.

The workshop aimed at strengthening the role of the private sector in diagnosing HIV epidemic in the Sultanate. It further aimed at coordinating the work between health institutions in both public and private sectors which would ultimately secure the identification of HIV patients consequently ensuring the diagnosis of the disease and treatment.

At the beginning, Dr. Seif Al Abri, Director General of Disease Surveillance & Control outlined the statistics of HIV patients recorded in the Ministry’s institutions. In addition, Dr. Al Abri highlighted the significance of following up process and treatment.

afterwards, Dr. Mazin Al Khabouri, Director General of Private Health Establishments stressed on the importance of collaboration between the public and private health institutions on order to facilitate the procedures of following up and confirming the disease, and dispensing the medications accordingly.  

The workshop, which was attended by more than150 health workers of both sectors, addressed many topics. The first session reviewed the impact of stigma and discrimination in community on the HIV epidemic in addition to the various HIV testing models. The second session underlined the common opportunistic infections and strategies for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT).