In collaboration with the Iraqi Ministry of Health, the American Space at the American University of Iraq-Baghdad (AUIB) hosted an awareness workshop on “HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Youth,” where a medical team from the Ministry’s Al-Karkh HIV Control Division delivered an interactive lecture before an audience of university students, faculty, and staff.
The rate of infections with the aforementioned diseases is increasing, primarily due to late detection, which leads to increased proliferation. This is often the result of a lack of public awareness regarding the nature of infections, their stages, modes of transmission, prevention methods, and treatment options—in addition to the social stigma faced by those affected, according to the medical team. This reality underscores the growing and critical importance of awareness campaigns conducted by the Ministry of Health in partnership with various community stakeholders, especially targeting youth, “this vital segment that forms the backbone of tomorrow’s society,” in the words of Dr. Hala Kamal Ismail, an official at the Al-Karkh Directorate of the Ministry of Health.