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Editorial
. 2017 Feb 1;6(2):65-69.
doi: 10.15171/ijhpm.2016.112.

Improving the Quality and Quantity of HIV Data in the Middle East and North Africa: Key Challenges and Ways Forward

Mohammad Karamouzian  1   2 , Navid Madani  3 , Fardad Doroudi  4 , Ali Akbar Haghdoost  1
Affiliations
Editorial

Improving the Quality and Quantity of HIV Data in the Middle East and North Africa: Key Challenges and Ways Forward

Mohammad Karamouzian et al. Int J Health Policy Manag. .

Abstract

Although the HIV pandemic is witnessing a decline in the number of new infections in most regions of the world, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has a rapidly growing HIV problem. While generating HIV data has been consistently increasing since 2005, MENA's contribution to the global HIV literature is just over 1% and the existing evidence often falls behind the academic standards. Several factors could be at play that contribute to the limited quantity and quality of HIV data in MENA. This editorial tries to explore and explain the barriers to collecting high-quality HIV data and generating precise estimates in MENA. These barriers include a number of logistic and socio-political challenges faced by researchers, public health officials, and policy-makers. Looking at successful regional HIV programs, we explore examples were policies have shifted and lessons could be learned in developing appropriate responses to HIV across the region.

Keywords: Data; HIV; Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

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References

    1. Setayesh H, Roudi-Fahimi F, El Feki S, Ashford LS. HIV and AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa. Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau; 2014.
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    1. World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office Countries. http://www.emro.who.int/countries.html. Accessed August 2016.
    1. Gökengin D, Doroudi F, Tohme J, Collins B, Madani N. HIV/AIDS: trends in the Middle East and North Africa region. Int J Infect Did. 2016;44:66–73. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2015.11.008. - DOI - PubMed
    1. UNAIDS. AIDS by the numbers. 2015. http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/documents/2015/AIDS_by_the_numbers_2015.

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