GENEVA, June 4 (KUNA) -- The State of Kuwait said here on Friday it finalized its first national report on the outlook of HIV/AIDS.

The report includes a survey of the efforts of the education and healthcare sectors to combat the disease and care for patients in collaboration with the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), chairperson of the statistics and information office of the Ministry of Health Dr. Hind Abdulaziz Al-Shumer said.
She made the remarks in her address to the HIV/AIDS session held by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as part of its annual International Labour Conference being held here between June 2 and 18.
"An aids patient in Kuwait is being treated on equal footing with any other patient and has the right to education and employment," Dr. Hind affirmed.
"If a patient is rendered unable to work, the government of Kuwait takes care of them and offers them full pension rights through the Public Institution for Social Security," she pointed out.
Although the number of HIV/AIDS patients in Kuwait is lower than that of other neighboring countries, the government of Kuwait has been among the first countries which adopted legislations on the combat against the disease and the rights of patients.
The relevant act adopted as early as in 1992 provides against discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients and protects their privacy, Dr. Hind said, citing the report. In 1994 Kuwait initiated the HIV/AIDS statistics and information office - a specialized agency for combating the epidemic, reviewing the complaints of patients and promoting awareness about the disease.
The country adopted a national strategy for combating the disease ini 1985, she added. The ongoing conference provides platform for government, worker and employer representatives from the ILO's 183 member States to discuss a series of topics, including; the elaboration of a standard on HIV/AIDS in the world of work; decent work for domestic workers; the strategic objective of employment ( follow up on the 2008 ILO; and the declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization; the Application of ILO's Conventions and Recommendations one year after the adoption of a Global Jobs Pact designed to guide national and international crisis responses. - Kuna