Egypt: Stigmatized by AIDS · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

According to the UNICEF, reported HIV prevalence is low in Egypt – ranging from 2,900 to 13,000 individuals – but there is very limited access to information for those most at risk and weak provisions for people living with HIV. Most reported HIV cases are transmitted through unprotected heterosexual sex, 90 per cent of Egyptian women who live with HIV were infected within marriage, and Egypt has a very high level of Hepatitis C infection, a virus with similar modes of transmission to HIV. A group of bloggers and independent media personalities are supporting the “Openness” initiative that is anti-stigmatizing AIDS patients, and calls for their integration in society instead of alienating them further by educating people on how to deal with them to avoid getting infected.
In response to Enas Lotfy's invitation, several bloggers posted the following message on their blogs:
شهادات حية لمتعايشين مع فيروس مرض الأيدز.
لقاء مع قادة دينيين ونظرة الدين لمرض الأيدز والمتعايشين معه.
حوار مفتوح مع بعض أعلام الفن والصحافة.
-مبادرة صراحة: مبادرة المدونين العرب في التجاوب مع مرض الأيدز
Bloggers from Egypt supporting the initiative include: Ahmed Shokeir, Hany George, Sherif Abdel Aziz, Amro Ezzat, Radwa Osama, Mina Zekri, Osama Abdel Aal, Marianne Nagy, Ahmed Zidan, Basma Moussa, Zahraa, Mahmoud Ezzat, Asmaa, Enas Lotfy, Ramez Sharkawy, Randa Abul Dahab, Mona Zidan, Shamie Assad, Abdel Moneim Mahmoud, Ghada Abdel Aal, Marwa Rakha, and many more.