HIV/AIDS in Egypt With less than 1 percent of the population
estimated to be HIV-positive, Egypt is a low-HIV-prevalence
country. Unsafe behaviors among most-at-risk populations and
limited condom use among the general population place Egypt at
risk of a broader epidemic. According to the National AIDS
Program (NAP), there were 1,155 people living with HIV/AIDS
(PLWHA) in Egypt by the end of 2007. UNAIDS estimates for 2005
were higher, putting the number of HIV-positive Egyptians at
5,300. Egypt reported its first case of HIV/AIDS in 1986. Among
officially reported cases, heterosexual intercourse was the
primary mode of transmission (49.1 percent), followed by
homosexual intercourse (22.9 percent), renal dialysis (12
percent), and blood transfusion (6.2 percent), according to the
NAP in an official report issued in January 2008. Injecting drug
use accounted for 2.9 percent of HIV infections and mother-to-
child transmission for 1.6 percent; 5.2 percent are from
“unknown” causes. Males are four times more likel