The HIV global pandemic is a serious crisis and concern for all. Some hospitals in Yemen however are evicting HIV+ patients because of the fear of infection.

The Human rights group "Human Rights Watch" is bringing the plight of HIV+ people and the related treatment that they receive in some private and public hospitals in Yemen to the media. The human rights group revealed this week how some Yemeni women and men were refused treatment because of their HIV status. There are international laws that recognize that these instances have been deemed illegal.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), a nonprofit advocacy group, mentioned three instances in which HIV+ people were refused treatment. The first incident had occurred when a pregnant woman went into labor; she was in need of a cesarean section, but she was turned away from a private hospital, The New York Times reported.

The second incident is in which a woman suffering from seizures was ordered out of a public hospital by a doctor. It had been alleged that the doctor shouted in front of everyone that she had HIV.

And the third incident had almost lead to criminal charges. HRW claimed that a patient's husband was detained by the hospital staff and was threatened with prosecution because he had concealed his wife's HIV status, The New York Times reported.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is adamant that something must be done to help HIV+ people living in Yemen. The organization claims that people infected with the disease are often denied treatment when the medical staff is informed of their health status.

"Yemen must enforce national and international anti-discriminatory legislation, as people with HIV and AIDS are routinely denied health care in the country," HRW stated in a letter to the Yemeni Health Ministry.

HRW's Middle East and North Africa director Sarah Leah Whitson also added via a statement that "I write to share with you information that Human Rights Watch has gathered that some individuals with HIV are being denied access to health care at public and private medical institutions."

The statement continues, "While we [HRW] acknowledge the current transitional period and lack of clarity as to when a new minister will be appointed, we ask what steps the Ministry of Health can take to address these alleged violations of Yemeni law and the internationally protected right to the highest standards of health."

HIV+ people in Yemen have to pay more to private health care facilities in order to receive proper treatment. Those that are infected are refused medical support by some state-run clinics and hospitals, so they must go to private clinics but are forced to pay double for medical fees, medication, and treatment, according to HRW.

One Yemeni doctor who treats HIV+ patients chalks it up to "pure discrimination." The doctor who works at a major state hospital in Sana'a, the capitol, says that staff members are indeed trained to deal with the infected patients and they have proper equipment, The New York Times reported.

Belkis Wille, Human Rights Watch's Yemen and Kuwait researcher, says that they have not received a response from the government.

Middle Eastern countries like Yemen have low HIV rates. On average, 6,000 Yemenis are infected. It is because of this low infection rate very few doctors are accustomed to treating HIV+ patients, as a result they are afraid, The New York Times reported.

There is an international law and precedent for treating HIV+ people. In October of this year, HRW sent a letter to the Yemeni health minister calling the aforementioned incidents illegal. There is a 2009 Yemeni law that mandates free health services to those with HIV, and it criminalizes discrimination that is brought against them by health workers, The New York Times reported.

"The right to highest attainable standard of health is outlined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which Yemen ratified in 1987," HRW has noted.