Launched on the heels of World AIDS day earlier this month, Qatar University is seeking to address stigmatization of and discrimination against AIDS patients in the country.

The university has invited researchers from the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) and Hamad Medical Corporation to study perceptions of HIV/AIDS patients in Qatar, and the effects of cultural stigma on those who have the disease.

Just over a week ago, Qatar and media network Al Jazeera came under attack from a South African human rights group for their alleged abuses of a journalist diagnosed with HIV.

It will be interesting to see whether Qatar University’s campaign and forthcoming study will have any impact on future government policy.