The president of the Moroccan Association for the Fight against AIDS (ALCS), Mehdi Karkouri, was elected president of Coalition PLUS, an international network for the fight against AIDS and viral hepatitis. “This election follows the General Assembly of the network which was held on Wednesday August 3, 2022, on the sidelines of the 24th international conference on AIDS (AIDS 2022)”, indicates the Coalition PLUS, in a statement.
Mehdi Karkouri succeeds Hakima Himmich. He is elected for a two-year term, just like the new executive office of Coalition PLUS, continues the same source.
“I thank all the members of the Board of Directors for their trust and support. Since the creation of Coalition PLUS 14 years ago, we have succeeded in raising our voices as people infected, affected or exposed to HIV; we have worked to respect the dignity of people, we have proven that our community expertise contributes to ending the epidemics of HIV and hepatitis C,” said Mehdi Karkouri, quoted by the press release. “But the needs are still immense to achieve this goal, and this year of replenishment of the Global Fund funds will be crucial,” he added.
Doctor and professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Casablanca, the new president of the Coalition PLUS joined the ALCS in 1996 as a volunteer. He got involved in HIV screening and initiated the very first experience of demedicalized community screening in the North Africa-Middle East region. This screening carried out by community health workers remains one of the most effective means of reaching the populations most exposed to HIV and too often stigmatised.
Expert in HIV testing and combined prevention with the World Health Organization (WHO), especially in the North Africa – Middle East region, he has also been President of the ALCS since 2018 and member of the Board of Directors of Coalition MORE.