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Cyprus' commitment to achieving the revised UN targets for HIV[/B] and AIDS[/B] by 2030 was stressed by Health Minister Michael Hadjipandela on Thursday, during a press conference held at the Ministry on the occasion of World AIDS Day.
In his address, the Minister of Health said that this year's World AIDS Day is marked by the stagnation in achieving the goals of halting the spread of the disease as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other economic and geopolitical challenges on a global scale.
As he said, according to the World Health Organization, by the year 2021, 38.4 million people were living with HIV, of which 1.5 million involved new diagnoses of the disease, and 28.7 million of them had access to antiretroviral treatment.
He added that racial, economic and social disparities in terms of access to diagnostic testing, antiretroviral treatment and clinical and laboratory follow-up remain and are widening, constituting an obstacle to efforts to end the HIV pandemic.
For this year, the global message is "equality", the Minister stressed, adding that the message is a springboard for action to ensure universal and unhindered access to health care, but also for a personal and collective rethink of our attitudes towards the disease, ending the stigmatisation and social marginalisation of people living with HIV.
"As the Ministry of Health, we remain committed to achieving the revised targets set by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, with an implementation horizon of 2030. In this context, 95% of people living with the virus to know their diagnosis, among them 95% to access and receive antiretroviral treatment, and among those on treatment 95% to achieve virological suppression. As the Ministry of Health, we remain committed to achieving the above in the light of zero stigma, universal equality and social acceptance."
According to Mr. Hadjipandela, for the year 2021 there were a total of 148 diagnoses of HIV infection in Cyprus, of which 113 related to primary diagnoses, while the remaining 35 related to diagnoses in people with an already known history of HIV infection.
He added that for the same year it is estimated that 91.6% of people residing in Cyprus who are virus positive have been diagnosed with the disease, adding that 93.7% of them have been linked to healthcare and are receiving antiretroviral treatment, while among those receiving antiretroviral treatment, 96.6% have achieved virological suppression.
"The Ministry of Health offers unimpeded access to antiretroviral treatment regardless of insurance coverage and nationality and provides free hospitalization and medical care for all complications related to the disease," the Health Minister said, adding that a recent decision of the Council of Ministers, dated 31 August 2022, increased the incentive plan for HIV-positive people from 300 euros to 350 euros, which will be paid in December accounts with retroactive effect.
"HIV infection is now a chronically controlled disease, with our HIV-positive citizens being fully functional and integral members of our society. Together we can end HIV, ending the inequalities that perpetuate it," Hajipandela stressed, calling on every citizen to carry a message of equality and acceptance, far from the stereotypes and prejudices of the past. Together we can achieve more. Together we can end the HIV pandemic," he concluded.
Then, the Infectious Diseases Specialist at the Gregorian Clinic, Dr. George Siakallis, provided more detailed statistics in relation to the longitudinal pattern of HIV/AIDS cases between 1986 and 2021.
As he mentioned, during this period a total of 1579 HIV positive persons were diagnosed, of which 784 are Cypriots (49.7%), for 2021 the number of diagnoses amounted to 148 new HIV positive cases, of which 46 are Cypriots, while in the period between January and October 2022 172 new HIV positive cases were diagnosed.
He added that in terms of gender distribution, of the 1579 total cases from 1986-2021, 1182 cases were male (74.9%) and 397 female (25.1%), adding that among the 784 Cypriot HIV-positive cases, 716 are male and 68 female (10:1 ratio), while among foreigners the ratio is 1:1 (466 male and 329 female).
Finally, the main mode of transmission, according to the data of the last five years, is sexual contact (92%), which includes Sexual Contact Between Men (52.3%) and Heterosexual Contact (39.7%), Dr. Siakallis added.
Source: CNA
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