Noticias

In that occasion, the city of Asuncion signed the Paris Declaration to end HIV as a public health problem by year 2030. The organization performed tests in different hospitals of the country and launched an application for smartphones with useful information for the LGBT community. Furthermore, many activities for the public were offered in response to the virus and information about the latest advancements regarding prevention was divulged such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) which is now part of the National Guide for attention and treatment of HIV in Paraguay.

 

“HIV is still a great challenge for the health and development of the countries in the world. Within the framework of the world day of response to HIV we are joining this global commitment that seeks local governments to provide accelerated actions to reduce the amount of people with the infection”, said the mayor of Asuncion, Mario Ferreiro, while signing the Paris Declaration that will put the capital of the country into a network of cities committed to eradicate HIV/aids pandemic by 2030. This historic event reaffirms the municipality’s engagement in achieving a city free from discrimination and with health care to accompany global efforts to end the epidemic.

 

 

The agreement proposes the 90-90-90 goals, an initiative by UNAIDS. This goals intends that 90% of the people living with HIV know their serological status, 90% of those people receive treatment and that 90% of that group possess an undetectable viral load in the body. For the occasion, the lighting of the building of the Municipality of Asuncion and other buildings of the city, such as the Ministry of Health and Public Welfare, was red to remember the date and the commitment.

 

SOMOSGAY was also carrying out free tests in hospitals such as Hospital of Barrio Obrero, Mother and Child Hospital of Loma Pyta and Mother and Child Hospital of Sao Paulo. There were agents providing information to all people interested and communicated to the public the non-cost services provided by the Clinica Kuimba’e for the prevention, testing and treatment of the virus. Furthermore, the organization divulged the latest advancements regarding prevention: pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) which consists of a treatment with antiretroviral drugs directed at people who do not live with the virus in order to avoid infection.

 

 

Within the framework of the week, the application for smartphones “Equis” was launched to provide the LGBT community with all useful information for the full exercise of human rights and prevention, testing and treatment of HIV/aids. The service, free and available for download on Android phones, shows a list of hospitals where the HIV test is available and it will soon be able to ask for a counselor to do the test at home.

 

 

Finally, SOMOSGAY celebrated a concert in the Patio Arecayá of the Cultural Center of the City, Manzana de la Rivera, with many local musicians present to promote all different actions in response to HIV/sida and to make available to the public all latest advancements in the matter within the framework of the Red Ribbon week.