MENA countries speeding up on AIDS numbers

The UN has warned that the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is on the rise, according to the Morocco Times newspaper. A statement issued by the UN to mark its '12th International Day of Families', noted that more than 500,000 people in the region were HIV-positive by the end of 2004, and the figure was increasing steadily. "The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in MENA countries at the end of 2004 ranged from 230,000 to 1.5 million, with an average of 540,000. But there are clear signs that the situation is changing fast," said the statement. Despite the shortage of AIDS information and data in the region, the UN said the best available estimates indicated that HIV prevalence rates were still among the lowest in the world.