International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 19 November 2002
Sebastien Carliez in Baghdad

"The challenge is to persuade them that early prevention is better than reactive cure," says Dr. Alaa Al-Samaraye, head of the Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS) health department. The IRCS has recently decided to take up this challenge, joining many of its sister National Societies in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.

On 27-31 October in Baghdad, the IRCS, with support from the International Federation, staged the country's first ever training workshop on HIV/AIDS. Thirty-six Red Crescent volunteers were trained to become trainers in their respective branches, and spread the word about the realities of HIV/AIDS.

For Al-Samaraye, this represented "the ideal stepping stone towards greater awareness about HIV/AIDS among the Iraqi population".

Two volunteers from each of the 18 IRCS branches were given detailed knowledge about HIV/AIDS, communication methods, leadership and training skills. Both female and male participants had practical sessions on condom use, still a highly sensitive issue in Iraq.

"These sessions depend a great deal on the trainers' ability to break the ice," explains Dr. Jari Vainio, the Federation's regional health delegate for the Middle East. "If the trainers deal with the issue naturally, the trainees will feel confortable about it too."

The Lebanese Red Cross (LRC), probably the region's most advanced National Society in the battle against HIV/AIDS, sent experienced facilitators to Baghdad for the occasion. Dany Dhaou, a LRC volunteer, explained to the trainees that "only self-esteem and acceptance can help individuals, and young people in particular, to resist peer pressure regarding risky behaviour".

The prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in the country indicates that Iraqis have more risky practices than one would assume. "Our role is to sensitise our Iraqi colleagues to the fact that people here are at risk too," says Rana Ibrahimi, a health educator at the Lebanon's National AIDS Programme, also a facilitator of the workshop.

Attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS is another critical issue in Iraq. "Taboo in the community comes from the lack of information," acknowledges Rasha Moussa, 24, a volunteer from the Tikrit branch and a secondary school teacher.

"Now that I know more about HIV/AIDS and how to talk about it, I will relay this knowledge to my pupils, relatives and neighbours," she says.

"People here think that HIV/AIDS only comes from sexual intercourse," explains Dr. Azad Abed Mohamed, a volunteer in his early 30s from the northern city of Dahuk. "We must tell them that there are other ways of infection, like drug injection and mother-to-child transmission."

After working hours, Mohamed goes to remote areas to talk to villagers about public health issues. He also translated first aid training handbooks from Arabic to Kurdish, his mother tongue and home language. He will soon start translating HIV/AIDS material.

Cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of Health has proved successful thus far. Four members of staff from the government-run Centre for Research and Studies on AIDS were among the trainees. "The authorities trust us because they know we have the grassroots network to reach people throughout the country," explains Al-Samaraye.

Today, the Red Crescent is the only organisation in Iraq that trains non-specialised people on HIV/AIDS. For the past two years, two-hour modules about the virus, ways of infection and means of prevention, have been included in all IRCS first aid training sessions.

"The Red Crescent now stands on the front line of prevention," confirms Anne Merete Bull, the International Federation's health delegate in the country.

The newly-trained volunteers will give six one-day lectures to their fellow colleagues in their respective branches before the end of the year. In 2003, the IRCS awareness campaign will primarily target students in high schools and colleges. "Volunteers shall also address ordinary people in primary health care centres and sometimes mosques," Al-Samaraye adds.

To those who may wonder why the IRCS is joining the battle against HIV/AIDS now, at the time when Iraq is threatened by war, this former military doctor responds that priorities remain priorities, whatever the situation in the country.

"It is important that Iraqis see positive developments still happening in their country, and that these are the results of renewed co-operation with international partners," concludes Sten Swedlund, head of the Federation's delegation in Baghdad, hoping that the Baghdad workshop could be "the small light at the end of the tunnel".

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