AHF Argentinafilial de AIDS Healthcare Foundation, seeks to raise awareness about the importance of prevention to take care of yourself and the population in general. Throughout these 10 years, thanks to the prevention campaigns carried out in the country by the foundation, 4,162 people living with HIV were diagnosed earlyof which 95% were linked to the health systemwhich is equivalent to more than one diagnosis per day.
Early access to a diagnosis allows starting treatment in a timely manner and thus control the infection and have an undetectable viral load. People living with HIV do not transmit the virus then maintain their viral load undetectable for six continuous months thanks to the treatment, which is currently called I=I.
This is the result of daily work in providing a comprehensive response to HIV and AIDS, developing different prevention and awareness activities. Miguel Pedrola, Scientific Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of AHF, expressed: “Since we have been working in the country, we have considered ourselves as a strategy to achieve the goals of UNAIDS, which aims to 90% of people living with HIV know their diagnosisor, different actions that allowed the community access medical care, prevention information and rapid testing. In addition, this year we are going to inaugurate our second Community Sexual Health Center in the city of Rosario, Santa Fewhich is added to the one we already have in CABA”.
The Community Center for Sexual Health of CABA, located at San Martín 899, acts as a meeting place for all those who need attention and support in everything related to sexual health. It is a space that it focuses on primary care, being friendly to the LGBTIQ community. Among the services they provide free of charge are: counseling and medical care for HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections, application of rapid tests for HIV, syphilis and Hepatitis C, and free access to condoms and lubricants.
“We celebrate our tenth anniversary together with more than 150 NGOs allieds, with which we have directly provided care to more than 36,000 people throughout the country in everything related to sexual health. In this way, we become pioneers in installing the HIV test in a massive way as a strategy to achieve the desired results. During this time, more than 10 million condoms were distributed free of charge and in total we carried out more than 260,000 free HIV tests”, added Pedrola.
It is estimated that there are 140,000 people with HIV in the country, of which 17% are unaware of their diagnosis. Therefore, it continues to be essential to work on campaigns to promote the HIV test and promote the use of condoms, both to prevent new cases of sexual transmission and so that more people can be diagnosed on time.
AHF in 10 years:
- 4,162 people were diagnosed with HIV early and 95% were linked to the health system, a consequence of having carried out 264,694 HIV tests throughout the country.
- They distributed more than 10 million “Love” condoms, the AHF brand that is distributed free of charge, the most effective method of sexual prevention.
- It was part of the project of “NATIONAL LAW OF INTEGRAL RESPONSE TO HIV, VIRAL HEPATITIS, OTHER SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS (STIs) and TUBERCULOSIS (TB)”: with a comprehensive approach to health, the law aims to improve the quality of life and care for all people with HIV.
- Established International Condom Day: every February 13 seeks to create awareness of self-care and the correct use of condoms as the most practical and efficient way to avoid STIs such as HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea or the human papillomavirus.
- He installed Testing Night, which takes place from Ushuaia to La Quiaca and whose objective is to raise awareness about the importance of taking the HIV test on a regular basis and thus obtaining an early diagnosis.
- He achieved the Guinness Record in Rosario, Santa Fe, for the “greatest number of rapid HIV tests applied in several places in a city, in a single day”: 3,733 tests in 8 hours.
- On Spring Day, a national campaign is carried out with activities in different parts of the country with the prevention of HIV, STIs and unwanted pregnancies, under the slogan “Let’s Forge Spring”.
- They prepared the “GUIDE TO GOOD PRACTICES IN COMMUNICATION ON HIV AND AIDS” together with the Argentine Network of Scientific Journalism. It is vitally important to communicate correctly, not to use words or expressions that may violate or stigmatize people, in order to avoid discrimination; This is how many myths and taboos that still persist in society are broken.
Source: Scope
