HIV is a hidden epidemic in the Middle East and North
Africa. The HIV burden across the region is relatively low,
and new HIV infections are largely among key populations
that face high levels of stigma, discrimination and
criminalization. Almost two thirds of new HIV infections in
2017 were in Egypt, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Sudan.
Special efforts are needed to expand and improve the HIV
testing and treatment programmes in the Islamic Republic
of Iran and Sudan, which accounted for more than 60% of
the region’s deaths from AIDS-related illness in 2017.
