Just test yourself! This is the message, but also the name of the social campaign launched by the Ministry of Health with the support of the National Agency for Public Health, the Public Association “Positive Initiative”, UNAIDS Moldova and local authorities. Until December 21, events will be organized in the Republic of Moldova, aimed at informing the population about HIV / AIDS, promoting testing, mobilizing and involving communities in the response to HIV infection.
This year, World AIDS Day is celebrated with the slogans “For you, for them, for everyone!” and “It’s important for everyone. Everyone is important! ” In this context, the Ministry of Health urges the population to be tested for HIV free at mobile sites. At the same time, until December 21, trainings will be organized among young people to promote testing; information materials will be promoted and disseminated in specialized institutions, public transport, social networks; various flashmobs and chatbots will be launched on social networks. Also, in order to assess the level of discrimination against people living with HIV, a screening will be performed using RID software.
The planned actions are aimed at promoting HIV testing, both among the general population and in key groups, reducing the level of discrimination against people living with HIV and other vulnerable groups to HIV, ensuring sustainable funding for the HIV epidemic services complex. .
At the beginning of 2021, approximately 14,400 cases of HIV disease were registered in the Republic of Moldova, and between January and October 2021, according to data from the PTH registry, 662 new cases were confirmed, compared to 567 infections detected in the same period. of the year 2020.
In 2020, the incidence of HIV infection per 100,000 population was about 17 cases, in the districts on the right bank of the Dniester – 15 cases, and in the eastern territories – 30 cases. There is a reduction in the incidence of HIV infection in rural areas, from 22 cases in 2019 – to 17 cases in 2020. In urban areas: from 24 cases – to 16 cases.
Most people living with HIV are young, of reproductive age. For the 0-39 age group, the incidence of HIV infection was 18 cases per 100,000 population, for 15-24 years – about 14 cases, and for the age of 40 and over – 15 cases.
In over 90 percent of cases, the HIV virus was transmitted heterosexually, and in 4 percent of diseases – homosexually. Drug use is responsible for 3% of infections, and in another 2.4% of diseases – the virus was transmitted from mother to child.
Authorities are conducting operative and sentinel epidemiological surveillance of HIV infection. Rapid capillary blood testing is being implemented, including in the non-governmental sector, HIV prevention services through commercial pharmacies and mobile clinics, overdose management is being carried out among IDUs. At the same time, they are available and are provided according to national protocols, developed on the basis of the latest WHO and UNAIDS recommendations, antiretroviral treatments, treatments for opportunistic infections and co-infections, care and support for people living with HIV, pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis. exposure.
In order to prevent the transmission of HIV infection, prevention activities are being implemented among the population, thanks to the considerable resources provided by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. In the first nine months of this year, approximately 27,000 people from high-risk groups received prevention services, including PCDI (15571), LS (7297) and BSB (4070).
According to UNAIDS, more than 37 million people worldwide are living with HIV. New cases of the disease fell from 2.7 million in 2000 to 1.5 million in 2020, and AIDS deaths from 1.4 million to 680,000.
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