Lovin Malta: LGBT+ Activists Fight HIV 'Morning-After' Drug's Steep Price Tag

Parties pledge to tackle PEP unaffordability

https://lovinmalta.com/news/lgbt-activists-fight-hiv-morning-after-drugs-steep-price-tag
Ann Dingli 27.5.2017

Emergency preventative medication for HIV is currently available in Malta... but costs €600. Party leaders recently pledged to work towards the removal of its unaffordable price tag, and have each signed an agreement to introduce free-of-charge PEP in Malta if their party is elected.

Post Exposure Prophylaxis, known as PEP is a drug that can be taken after a person is potentially exposed HIV to prevent them from becoming infected. A recent LGBTIQ debate with Malta's main political party representatives discussed the issue of its high price, and the parties' commitment towards bettering Malta's HIV medical treatment in general.

A report compiled by the Allied Rainbow Communities (ARC) describes the current HIV situation in Malta as "critical", claiming that as things stand, 671 new HIV cases could develop by 2021.

If the political parties deliver on their agreement to offer PEP medication for free, then people at risk would be less impeded to act swiftly after the threat of exposure. PEP medication should be used strictly in emergency situations and needs to be started within 72 hours after exposure.

Russell Sammut from ARC questioned party representatives at the LGBTIQ debate on their commitment to removing the high price tag on PEP, as well as on the investment in other HIV healthcare and treatment. Sammut urged leaders to follow through on this pledge to facilitate readily available prevention medication that could save the country a bunch of money spent on treatment for actual HIV care once it is contracted.

Nationalist Party (PN) leader Simon Busuttil said that if PN are elected it would be their aim to upgrade HIV treatment in Malta. Busuttil stressed his belief that all HIV medication should be free for everyone. Minister for Civil Liberties Helena Dalli added that the medication in question is actually mentioned in the Labour Party (PL) electoral manifesto, and that one of their focuses will be to make sure that the adequate medicines remain in stock on the island.

A snapshot of HIV in Malta*
In 2015 there were 61 known cases of HIV in Malta
HIV cases have increased by 20% per year since 2009
57% of that yearly increase is found within the 'Men having Sex with Men' (MSM) group
In 2014 the rate of new HIV cases in Malta was 11% higher than the UK
With the current medical treatment available Malta will have >2000 HIV cases by 2021
That will mean €271m spent on lifetime treatment from new infections

*All data has been provided by ARC Malta.

Click to read the full signed agreement covering Equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people in the 2017 – 2022 legislative period.

Do you think PEP should be made freely available in Malta? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section on Facebook.

Gay Malta & MGRM: Il-Manifest Elettorali u l-LGBTIQ

Q&A Session between the LGBTIQ Community and the main Political Parties
https://www.gaymalta.com/2017-election


On Saturday 20th May arc & MGRM co-organised a public Q&A session titled "il-Manifest Elettorali u l-LGBTIQ".
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The four main political parties participated in the Q&A session focused on LGBTIQ issues. The Prime Minister Dr Joseph Muscat, Opposition Leader Dr Simon Busuttil, Ralph Cassar (AD) and Dr Godfrey Farrugia (PD) put forward their LGBTIQ electoral proposals and answered any questions from those present.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4oYwCqib5g

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News Book: Il-Knisja m’għandhiex x’taqsam ma’ reklam tal-MCUF

http://www.newsbook.com.mt/artikli/2017/5/23/il-knisja-m%27ghandhiex-x%27taqsam-ma%27-reklam-tal-mcuf.60679/
Charmaine Attard - 23/05/17 10:16 AM

L-Arċidjoċesi ta’ Malta qalet ma’ Newsbook.com.mt li m’għandhiex x’taqsam ma’ kull tip ta’ propoganda li ssir taħt l-isem Maltese Catholics United for the Faith (MCUF).

Newsbook.com.mt ikkuntattja lill-Uffiċċju tal-Komunikazzjoni tal-Kurja biex jara jekk l-Arċidjoċesi ta’ Malta, għandhiex x’taqsam ma’ reklam ta’ paġna sħiħa li deher f’xi gazzetti Maltin f’dawn il-ġranet.

Ir-reklam taħt il-firma tal-grupp Maltese Catholics United for the Faith isejjaħ il-pożizzjoni tal-partiti politiċi dwar iż-żwieġ bejn persuni tal-istess sess bħala ‘glorifikazzjoni tad-dnub.’

Malta Today: Malta retains top place in Europe gay rights ranking

2016 saw Malta introduced gender identity law and ban on harmful conversion practices, but issues remain outstanding with access to reproductive health for same sex couples still criminalised

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/77277/malta_retains_top_place_in_europe_gay_rights_ranking
Matthew Vella, 17 May 2017, 9:00am, Print Version


After introducing civil unions in 2014, both parties now approve of gay marriage

For the second year running Malta ranks first on ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Index, maintaining its classification among 49 Council of Europe Member States where LGBTIQ legislation and policy are concerned.

In 2016 Malta introduced the Affirmation of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Gender Expression Act, banning harmful gay conversion practices and ensuring that no sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression could be considered an illness or disease.

Times: PN to include gay marriage in manifesto

'It is the next logical step'

https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20170513/local/pn-to-include-gay-marriage-in-manifesto.647860
Saturday, May 13, 2017, 20:10



The Nationalist Party will be including gay marriage in its electoral manifesto.

Speaking during a live Facebook session this evening, party leader Simon Busuttil, who, together with the rest of Nationalist MPs, had abstained when the issue of civil unions had been voted upon in Parliament, said this was the next logical step even if to prevent the matter from continuing to be politicised.

When Parliament had debated civil unions, Dr Busuttil had said that while the Opposition agreed with unions among gay couples, it had reservations on allowing them to adopt children and felt that more studies were necessary.

Dr Busuttil said he believed that all rights that had been given by this government should be retained and the fear that was being spread was baseless.

The Facebook session can be followed here.

Interactions between HIV treatment and other types of medicine

28.5.2017

The below link is being highlighted for HIV positive individual and healthcare workers. The link provides information on interactions between HIV treatment and other types of medicine. 

For patients there may be too much medical jargon but the conclusions on interactions are clearly described. This is especially useful for when in doubt on whether commonly used over the counter medicines, commonly used herbal products or even vitamins, can be harmful if taken with HIV treatment. 

Although recreational drug intake is not suggested with or without HIV, the website also lists the possible interactions of HIV treatment with recreational drugs.

http://www.hiv-druginteractions.org/checker 

Attitude: Chechen Authorities' summon parents to prison camps to kill their gay sons

The full horror facing gay men in Chechnya continues to emerge.
http://attitude.co.uk/chechen-authorities-summoning-parents-to-prison-camps-to-kill-their-gay-sons/

Authorities in Chechnya have been summoning parents to detention centres before telling them to kill their gay children, according to harrowing new survivor testimonies.

Horrifying accounts of brutality and killings have been emerging from the largely self-governing Russian republic over the last month, after Novaya Gazeta reported that over 100 gay and bisexual men aged 16-50 had been detained by authorities over the last few months.

All Out: End forced "gay tests" once and for all [in Tunisia]

17.4.2017

Tortured to "prove" you are gay. It's happening right now here in Tunisia.

If you're arrested under my country's anti-gay law, authorities can force you to undergo "anal testing." They claim it’s an examination to find "evidence" of your sexual orientation.

It's actually a traumatising sexual assault that proves absolutely nothing.

AVAAZ: Petition to President Putin

Now the journalist who broke the story is in hiding after getting death threats. Let's keep building a massive call to stop the crackdown! Add your name and tell everyone --  Chechnya is rounding up gay people and taking them to torture centres, and it's as horrific as it sounds. But a massive global outcry can force them to close. Join the urgent campaign with one click and tell everyone -- let's make this huge!  SIGN HERE Dear friends, Chechnya is rounding up gay people and taking them to torture centres, and it's as horrific as it sounds. Men are being electrocuted, tortured until they reveal names of other gay people, and beaten so badly that some have died. Targeting gay people and dragging them into prisons is like something the Nazis would do. It’s both terribly upsetting and infuriating, but there's a plan to stop it.

Pink News: Husband of murdered French policeman says he ‘lived like a star’

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/04/25/boyfriend-of-murdered-french-policeman-says-he-lived-like-a-star/
Josh Jackman, 25th April 2017, 4:44 PM, 8 reader comments



The husband of the French policeman who was shot dead last week has opened up about his “extreme and profound pain”.

Xavier Jugele, 37, was murdered on Thursday while on duty on Champs Elysees avenue, in an attack which has since been claimed by so-called Islamic State.

Attitude: CHECHNYA’S PRESIDENT ‘VOWS TO ELIMINATE GAY POPULATION BY THE END OF MAY’

http://attitude.co.uk/chechnyas-president-vows-to-eliminate-gay-population-by-the-end-of-may/
WILL STROUDE — APRIL 22, 2017

Kremlin-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov has reportedly promised to wipe out the region's gay population by the start of Ramadan.

Chechnya's Russian-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov has denied reports.

Chechnya’s president has reportedly vowed to “eliminate” the region’s gay population by the end of next month as the brutal persecution and torture of gay men in the region continues.

Kremlin-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov has promised to wipe out gay men from the region by the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins on May 26 this year and is widely celebrated in Chechnya.

Times: 163 registered civil unions in three years

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20170415/local/163-registered-civil-unions-in-three-years.645261

Saturday, April 15, 2017, 16:23



A total of 163 couples were united through the civil union law in three years, according to Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli.

The number includes 22 same-sex couples who had initially been registered overseas while a baby was also adopted by a gay couple in the same period.