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The Cartagena reference unit remains low and the Social Pact remains unimplemented.

[10/20/2018] On the occasion of the celebration of the HIV Test Day, the LGTBIQ Association "GALACTYCO Collective" of Cartagena and Comarca and the State Federation of Lesbians, Gais, Trans and Bisexuals (FELGTB) request that the Unit of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of STIs and HIV of Cartagena under the Ministry of Health of the Regional Government of Murcia, return to work one hundred percent.

Since the retirement of the doctor who has been in charge of the Unit for thirty years, the services have been reduced and only one day a week.

In addition, both organizations require the parties that stand for elections on November 10 to prioritize care for people with HIV, so that their rights are at the center of health policies.

And, although the Social Pact for Non-Discrimination and Equal Treatment Associated with HIV was approved in November 2018, almost a year later, it is still not implemented.

However, in recent years, the figures of approximately 4,000 new infections per year remain throughout the Spanish territory.

As explained by the coordinator of the FELGTB Integral Health group, Rubén Mora, "these data shed light on the special vulnerability of gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men to HIV infection."

But, in addition, both these men, as trans women, can add vulnerabilities such as suffering from stigma associated with HIV, LGBTIphobia, being in an irregular situation and / or finding certain barriers when accessing the health system and the market labor that may result in sexual activity or problematic consumption.

“For this reason, from FELGTB we demand from the health system the creation of prevention and care strategies that take into account this sum of vulnerabilities and are aimed at facilitating informed decision making, as is already done in LGTBI entities�, ensures.

In this regard, he explains that “these strategies should encourage HIV testing, as it is the key to start treatment as soon as possible and thus improve the prognosis of the infection and the quality of life.

But not only this, but they should also generate safe spaces in which people who come to be tested can express their needs and concerns about the care of their sexual health and receive the necessary information to choose the preventive measure that best suits adapt to your needs and your pleasure management �.

"And it is that, at present, the fear of stigma and shame, among other reasons, are a brake for many LGBTI people when approaching health services," Mora reports.

The coordinator of the FELGTB Comprehensive Health group says that "the policies that have diversified the spaces in which people can take the test have been very effective, so efforts should continue to be made in that regard."

In addition, it emphasizes that “not only must access to resources be guaranteed for the performance of the test (offering them to be free and confidential), but it must be ensured that people whose test is reactive can easily access the confirmatory tests, a specialized medical follow-up and a free treatment for your infection �.

Also remember that LGTB entities offer peer counseling and support programs to reduce the impact of diagnosis and improve their quality of life, also virtually.

Thus, FELGTB has the Positives 2.0 program, which seeks to generate safe spaces through the creation of online emotional support groups aimed at LGBT youth with newly diagnosed HIV.

Measures against serophobia and HIV discrimination

FELGTB recalls that people with HIV may face inequality of treatment, both socially and institutionally, rejection or discrimination.

For this reason, many people may decide not to know their serological status so as not to have to face this stigma.

Thus, Mora emphasizes the need to eradicate serophobia to make it easier for more people to make the decision to get tested for HIV.

In this regard, FELGTB requests that the Social Pact be promoted urgently from a gender perspective and with special attention to the most vulnerable realities.

In addition, it demands the withdrawal of the cataloging of HIV / AIDS as an “infectious-contagious disease� in all the official Spanish literature and regulations and the inclusion of this modification in all legislation related to access to goods and services.

And, as explained by the coordinator of the FELGTB Integral Health group, Rubén Mora, “this measure is fundamental to avoid the limitation of rights and discrimination of those who have HIV since, in addition, it has been shown that people with undetectable viral load they do not transmit the virus to other people â€�.

Thus, FELGTB also urges the Administration to continue implementing the withdrawal of HIV infection from the medical exclusion tables in force in all calls for oppositions, promotion or transfer in the public service.

Specifically, in those measures referring to the State Security Forces and Corps, to the Police Corps under the Autonomous Communities and to those dependent on the Municipal Corporations, to the Corps of Helpers of Penitentiary Institutions and to the Corps that make up the Armed Forces, as well as in the case of medical and health personnel.

In addition, it requests the creation of HIV training and awareness programs within the Judiciary, in the sense that all legal operators involved in the process of normative creation and application of jurisprudence have access to updated medical information regarding to HIV.

On the other hand, it demands that it be guaranteed that in the Autonomous Communities there is a protocol that allows people with HIV, including migrants, to have guaranteed access to treatment, including those who frequently move between Autonomous Communities, especially those who exercise sex work

It also claims the promotion by the Public Administrations of all available measures aimed at the prevention and treatment of HIV.

Source: GALACTYCO