Times: Fast-track actions on HIV across Europe

https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20170604/health-fitness/Fast-track-actions-on-HIV-across-Europe.649936

Sunday, June 4, 2017, 10:18 by 

Charmaine Gauci

HIV testing is to be encouraged for the early pick-up of cases and to ensure early linkage to care for people living with HIV.

Never assume that people do or do not have HIV because of their nationality, gender, sexual orientation or lifestyle choices. No one comes with a label, so always practise safer sex. It is essential that educators and parents alike transmit this message when talking about HIV.

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".
​
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

​

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 

MGRM & Gay Malta: Position Paper on HIV Prevention and Treatment Guidelines

Published by the Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) and Gay Malta

April 2017

The information guidelines below have been formulated to provide information to Malta based Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ) sexually active individuals who wish to have access to adequate prevention or treatment for HIV.

In view of the paucity of actions so far, and the slow development of an adequate sexual health policy, the unfortunate and inevitable result is of an increase in sexual health related diseases, including HIV, which disproportionately impinge upon our community with those most at risk being men who have sex with men and trans sex workers. This important issue requires several fronts of action and these guidelines relate both to the access of effective prevention from HIV infection and also to better treatment for those individuals who are HIV positive.

Independent: HIV self-test kits now available in local pharmacies

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2017-03-18/local-news/HIV-self-test-kits-now-available-in-local-pharmacies-6736171714#.WM1giZ9U61U.facebook

Helena GrechSaturday, 18 March 2017, 17:00

Self-testing HIV kits are now available in local pharmacies, Allied Rainbow Communities has announced.

The Malta Independent on Sunday had initially reported that the government, under Health Minister Chris Fearne, was in the procurement process of bringing HIV rapid testing kits to the GU clinic in Mater Dei Hospital, for free. The Ministry had also revealed when speaking to this newsroom that self-test HIV home kits will also be available in pharmacies, which has now been made a reality.

The self-test kits allow a person to be able to test for the disease at the comfort of their own home, without any prying eyes. It is a straightforward process that requires a small drop of blood, takes 15 minutes to get the results, and is 99.8 per cent accurate. The kit is known as the ‘Autotest VIH’.

HIV is a potentially life-threatening condition that works by damaging a person’s immune system, as it interferes with the body’s ability to fight the organisms that cause disease. It is primarily a sexually transmitted disease however drug users who share needles are also at risk. The body’s ability to fight disease is possible through what are known as ‘antibodies’, explaining why a blood test over a saliva swam is generally preferable.

It must be said that HIV has an incubation period, meaning that some time must pass between contracting HIV, and getting a positive read on a test.

The kits have been approved both by Malta and the EU.

In the recently adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, EU member states resolved to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. To achieve this it has set up a set of goals to be met by 2020:

“By 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status.

“By 2020, 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy.

“By 2020, 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.”

Times: Malta to host HIV technical meeting next year

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20160610/local/malta-to-host-hiv-technical-meeting-next-year.614951
Friday, June 10, 2016, 15:23



Dr Fearne (right) at the UN general assembly. Photo: Health Ministry

Malta is to host a Europe-wide meeting on HIV prevention and mitigation strategies during its six-month stint as president of the European Council next year.

Health Minister Chris Fearne made the announcement while addressing the UN assembly in New York.

BuzzFeed: Meet The Man Who Stopped Thousands Of People Becoming HIV-Positive

https://www.buzzfeed.com/patrickstrudwick/meet-the-man-who-stopped-thousands-of-people-becoming-hiv-po?utm_term=.xn5Xlkl6B7#.kaya040oBJ

“I knew I was doing something of substance, but it’s really overwhelming.” In an exclusive interview with BuzzFeed News, Greg Owen reveals the story behind Britain’s largest ever drop in HIV transmissions.

Patrick Strudwick, BuzzFeed UK LGBT Editorposted on Feb. 25, 2017, at 9:49 a.m.

Laura Gallant / Tim Lane / BuzzFeed

A few days before Christmas 2016, a phone call took place that no one could have predicted.

One of the world’s most esteemed HIV doctors, Professor Sheena McCormack – whose life’s work as an epidemiologist has been to track and fight the virus – picked up the phone to deliver a message that would make headline news: In the space of 12 months, the number of gay men in London being diagnosed with HIV had dropped by 40%. Across England it was down by a third.

DOI: PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY FOR HEALTH

1.2.2017, Department of Information, Government of Malta

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY FOR HEALTH

Reference Number: PR170237 , Press Release Issue Date: Feb 01, 2017

 

Fast-track the end of AIDS in the EU:  practical evidence-based interventions—Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union Conference organised in collaboration with the ECDC

 

HIV remains a significant public health problem in the 31 countries of the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA), with around 30,000 newly diagnosed HIV infections reported each year over the last decade. In a two-day meeting held under the auspices of the Maltese EU Presidency, HIV experts from across the European Union will discuss how to reverse this trend and how to prepare Europe to achieve the set target of ending AIDS by 2030.[i]

 

DOI: STQARRIJA MILL-MINISTERU GĦAS-SAĦĦA: L-ARC b’donazzjoni għal taħriġ għall-istaff mediku tal-GU Clinic

https://gov.mt/en/Government/Press%20Releases/Pages/2016/July/18/pr161611.aspx

Reference Number: PR161611, Press Release Issue Date: Jul 18, 2016

L-Allied Rainbow Communities (ARC) din il-ġimgħa ppreżentaw donazzjoni ta’ ’l fuq minn €2,000 lill-Ministru għas-Saħħa, Chris Fearne. Din id-donazzjoni ntużat biex tliet persuni mill-istaff mediku tal-GU Clinic ingħataw taħriġ speċjalizzat f’St Mary Hospital ta’ Londra u fl-isptar ta’ Bertinoro fl-Italja.

Dan it-taħriġ għen biex l-istaff tal-GU Clinic iżid l-għarfien tiegħu kemm fuq mard trasmess sesswalment, kif ukoll dwar il-ġbir ta’ informazzjoni fuq it-trattament, b’riżultat li ssir taf bl-infezzjoni aktar kmieni u li jibda t-trattament immedjat.

Il-Ministru għas-Saħħa rringrazzja lill-NGO ARC li hija NGO li taħdem qalb il-komunitajiet LGBTI+ għall-ġest nobbli li għamlu u li permezz tiegħu se jibbenefikaw ħafna nies.

TVM: Żieda fil-Każi tal-HIV f'Malta

http://www.tvm.com.mt/mt/news/zieda-fil-kazi-tal-hiv-fmalta/
minn Antonia Micallef

Ikklikja fuq il-link biex tara l-artiklu u l-video.

Pink News: Scientists declare ‘the end of AIDS’ as a public health issue in Australia

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2016/07/10/scientists-declare-the-end-of-aids-as-a-public-health-issue-in-australia/
Joseph Patrick McCormick; 10th July 2016, 4:17 PM


The scientists declared the "end of AIDS" in Australia as a public health issue

Scientists in Australia had declared “the end of AIDS” as a public health issue.

The announcement makes Australia one of few countries where the AIDS epidemic has been declared officially over.

Researchers from the Kirby and Peter Doherty institutes and the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations made the announcement, as the number of AIDS diagnoses per year has now fallen so low.



Since the rise to prominence of antiretroviral drugs in the 1990s, the number of those living with HIV whose condition progresses to AIDS, has fallen dramatically.

At the height of the AIDS epidemic, around 1,000 Australians died a year of AIDS-related illness.

Pink News: Designer fighting stigma: ‘When I came out as HIV+, my flatmate refused to share a fridge’

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2016/06/10/designer-fighting-stigma-when-i-came-out-as-hiv-my-flatmate-refused-to-share-a-fridge/

• Ben Dilks
 
• 10^th June 2016, 12:36 PM

Jacob Alexander is fighting HIV stigma

A London fashion student has launched a new app aiming to reduce the stigma surrounding HIV and help those newly diagnosed with the virus.

The Positive Project app was conceived after creator Jacob Alexander found out he had HIV on the morning of his 22nd birthday.

Guardian: UN pledges to end Aids epidemic but plan barely mentions those most at risk

Activists walked out in protest after the resolution was adopted 

Summit criticized for excluding gay and transgender organizations
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jun/08/un-hiv-aids-summit-gay-transgender-groups-excluded

Amanda Holpuch in New YorkWednesday 8 June 2016 23.07 BST

UN member states have pledged to end the Aids epidemic by 2030, but campaigners say the strategy adopted by the 193-nation general assembly on Wednesday barely mentions those most at risk of contracting HIV/Aids: men who have sex with men, sex workers, transgender people and intravenous drug users.

Activists walked out in protest after the resolution was adopted on the first day of the three-day summit, which had already been the subject of intense criticism for excluding gay and transgender organizations. More than 50 countries, including Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran, blocked 22 groups from attending the conference.

Independent UK: Three things you think you know about gay men and HIV

Critics of PrEP, the daily pill that stops people getting HIV, say that gay men just need to change their behaviour, not take a preventative medicine. Here is why that alone is not the answer

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/three-things-you-think-you-know-about-gay-men-and-hiv-a7039091.html
Suzi Price; Friday 20 May 2016

When the Pill was introduced, there was an immediate backlash, as people felt it would encourage promiscuity. We managed to overcome that stigma, and over 50 years later we are on the cusp of something similarly revolutionary in regards to HIV.

MGRM: Questionnaire for HIV+ persons

21st April 2016 by the Malta Gay Rights Movement

The confidential survey below is organised by an HIV subcommittee of MGRM (the Malta LGBTIQ Rights Movement) which is mapping out the HIV services available in Malta and helping to identify any gaps or deficiencies.

This will hopefully lead to identifying areas where improvement and additional resources need to be provided.

The answers given will remain totally confidential and will be used solely in an aggregated anonymous format.

Most of the questions require a simple YES/NO response, with the scope for some free text input.

The survey can be accessed here: https://farrig.typeform.com/to/TDAK8r

Thank you for choosing to take part in this survey.

MGRM

MGRM provides support services to the LGBTIQ community, should you need of professional social support, contact the Rainbow Support Service on support@maltagayrights.org or 79430006

Times: Increase in HIV cases caused by sexual transmission

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20160307/local/increase-in-hiv-cases-caused-by-sexual-transmission.604949
Monday, March 7, 2016, 18:16



An increase in the incidence of HIV, which can lead to Aids, was the result of gay relationships and not shared syringes by drug users, the Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Chris Fearne, said in Parliament this evening.

He said a similar increase was being seen in several other countries.

A task force of professionals is drawing up policies and preparing an information campaign to tackle the trend and educate the people on precautions to avoid sexually transmitted diseases.

He said there was no increase as a result of shared syringes had been seen, and the Health Department was continuing to provide free syringes to those who needed them.

Mr Fearne was replying to questions by Franco Mercieca and Anthony Agius Decelis (PL).

ECDC: HIV in Europe: 5 facts you need to know

https://vimeo.com/140804137?ref=fb-share
European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control


HIV in Europe: 5 facts you need to know from ECDC on Vimeo.

Did you know that...
- more than 300 000 people were diagnosed with HIV over the last decade?
- that cases among men who have sex with men continue to rise?
- everyday, 80 people are diagnosed with HIV?
- half of these cases are diagnosed late?
- many more people are infected but unaware and can pass on the virus to others?

HIV: Test, protect, prevent.

Times: Unprotected sex behind record rise in HIV cases

World AIDS Day has come and gone with barely a whisper, yet Malta is this year facing a record surge in new HIV cases.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20151213/local/unprotected-sex-behind-record-rise-in-hiv-cases.595477
Sunday, December 13, 2015, 10:47 by Ariadne Massa

A record high of 60 people became infected with the HIV virus, according to the latest figures.

Fourteen new cases of HIV have surfaced in just two months – shooting up the total for this year to a record high of 60 people who became infected with the virus, according to the latest figures.

Casual unprotected sex is behind this record surge – 17 more cases than all of 2014 – and medics are concerned that this coupled with the fact that the fear factor associated with HIV is no longer present could lead to more people becoming infected.

Telegraph: ‘This is what it’s really like to live with HIV’

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/health/this-is-what-its-really-like-to-live-with-hiv/
Theo Merz 17 NOVEMBER 2015 • 10:32AM

CRISTIAN SANDULESCU, CENTRE: "BEING ON THE RIGHT MEDICATION, MY CHANCES OF TRANSMITTING THE VIRUS ARE NEGLIGIBLE"

Charlie Sheen is expected to make a "revealing personal" announcement today, following reports in the US that he is HIV positive. If correct, the anticipated disclosure will confirm that the actor is one of 35 million people worldwide who live with the virus.

Charlie Sheen pictured in 2013 CREDIT: AP

HIV is rarely out of the news, and yet, because of continuing developments in treatment, few of us understand what life with the condition is like now.