The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed‑Mubarak, has disclosed that about 1,300 applicants who participated in the recent security services recruitment exercise tested positive for HIV during the mandatory medical screening.
The revelation was made when the Minister appeared before Parliament’s Assurances Committee on Tuesday. He explained that the applicants were identified during the medical screening stage, raising concerns about how such sensitive health information should be communicated to affected individuals.
Mr Mubarak said government decided against sending medical results directly to applicants without proper counselling and orientation.
“In the recent recruitment, we had, I think, about 1,300 or so that were on HIV. And then they said, can you imagine sending somebody a result without telling the person that you have HIV? I mean, that’s not the procedure. The person has to go through some orientation,” he stated.
To safeguard privacy, he noted that individuals disqualified during the process were provided with contact information through which they could seek clarification on their status.
“So one of the things that we did was simply to say that when you get disqualified, you are given a contact to reach out if you want to know why you were disqualified,” he explained.
The Minister added that several of the medical conditions detected during the screening are treatable, making it important for affected individuals to know their status and seek care.
“Some of the things that we realised are treatable. People need to know and then also get treatment so that subsequent recruitment they could join,” he said.
He revealed that the medical screening also uncovered conditions such as hepatitis B, cardiac problems, mental health issues, previous major surgeries, and drug‑related complications.
Mr Mubarak encouraged unsuccessful applicants to request their medical results, stressing that some may have conditions they are unaware of but can be effectively managed.
“It may be something minor, it may be something major. Whichever it is, if you get to know, it will be of great interest to you,” he added.
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