[GOTFIVEONIT]

New HIV test norm soon for job seekers in UAE

Wednesday, 01 August 2007


Abu Dhabi, August 01: Soon, expatriates coming to the UAE for employment purposes will have to furnish HIV/Aids-free certificates to enter the country, a top health official has revealed.

Dr Ali bin Shukur, under-secretary of the Ministry of Health told that the Health, Labour and other federal ministries were mulling a new policy under which it would be made mandatory for expatriates seeking jobs to produce certificates from their home countries attesting they were free of HIV/Aids.

“We are planning a law in cooperation with other federal ministries, including the Ministry of Labour,” affirmed Dr Shukur. The official was responding to a query about the new measures the government was mulling to ensure that the expatriate labour force was free of disease.

“This measure will be part of a comprehensive project to be implemented in coordination with governments of several countries exporting labour force to the UAE,” Dr Shukur added.

The certificate, he said, will be an initial document to enter the country. Once the expatriates arrive, they will again be screened for HIV/Aids for issuance of employment visa. “In some developing countries, the diagnosis and screening systems might not be up to the mark, and the results may be unreliable. That’s why double-checking is vital,” he said.

Another reason for repeating the tests, he said, was the possibility of forging of medical documents by unscrupulous recruitment agencies. It may be noted that last year, 750 expatriates out of the 1.5 million screened for HIV/Aids for issuance of employment visas, were found carrying the virus, official records show.

--Agencies





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