Skopje, 1 December 2021 (MIA) – On average, 45 cases of HIV infections are diagnosed in North Macedonia per year. The overall estimate of individuals with HIV could be from 437 to 575 people, whereas the number of those who were unaware of their HIV status could range from 105 to 243 people. Out of the estimated 500, 332 were diagnosed by the end of 2020, i.e., 66%.

Also, 330 patients are currently taking treatment at the Infectious Diseases Clinic, said Andrej Senih, executive director of Stronger Together, the Association for Support of People Living with HIV, at an event marking World AIDS Day,

He presented the findings of an analysis conducted in cooperation with local and foreign experts, according to the European Center for Disease Control methodology.

The Association urges every sexually active person to be tested for HIV every now and again.

“It concerns us as an association that out of 225 new infections, 48% were caught late, and 1/5 were diagnosed with very advanced stages of HIV. 112 people died by the end of 2020. There are usually one, or two, or three HIV-related deaths. There were more last year due to HIV infections that were discovered too late. However, a late-stage HIV infection doesn’t mean there’s no hope,” Senih said.

As many as 90% of the people who got diagnosed in 2020 are on antiretroviral therapy, and 94% of those people have fully suppressed the virus in their bloodstream, which prevents the virus from being spread sexually.

He said that they’ve estimated the incidence over the past few years according to modeling methodology, looking at the entire curve of the infection from the early 1980s to 2020. It peaked in 2015 and 2016, and the number of new infections annually was 51 in 2015, and 47 in 2020. According to this methodology, the result is that 34% of people currently infected with HIV were unaware of their HIV status by the end of 2020 because they hadn’t had an HIV test done. Out of the estimated 37.7 million people living with HIV, 84% were aware of their status by the end of 2020.

Senih added that it’s important that all the countries at the UN’s General Assembly to endorse the new 95-95-95 goals by 2025, which means that 95% of HIV carriers should be aware of their status, 95% should receive therapy, and 95% should have undetectable levels of HIV in their bloodstream.

Minister of Health Venko FIlipche said at Tuesday’s press conference that his ministry has taken steps such as increasing the budget for the 2022 program for the protection of the population against HIV to MKD 130 million from the initial 90 million.

“The civil society organizations’ activities are being recognized and put within a legal framework for the first time, which is contained in the amendment of the Law on Healthcare which has already passed the government’s procedure during the session on Tuesday, with some modifications that don’t include this segment. Because we’re making multiple amendments, we’ll send it to Assembly and I believe it’ll be adopted as another contribution that increases the quality of cooperation between the Ministry and the civil society organizations. There’s plenty more to do,” Filipche said.

The topic is always specific, said the Minister, when it comes to something that is still stigmatized in society and should be worked on several levels, but I think that with all these steps we move forward, i.e., we strengthen cooperation and have activities that will be new and will be considered next year, we will modify it based on the next budget and the program itself in order to introduce activities and increase the overall quality.

“In 2018, the Government took over the financing of the HIV prevention program from the Global Fund. At that moment, our country is assessed as a country with a fairly stable epidemic in relation to HIV and in that sense begins the system of funding of civil society organizations that undertake a significant part of all these activities that mean prevention," said Filipche.

He emphasized the successful cooperation they have with civil organizations, known for their expertise, for their exceptionally good quality of relationship with critical categories of citizens when it comes to transmitting the HIV virus.

“I believe that this is really a successful cooperation in which state institutions use the knowledge and expertise and contacts of civil organizations and in the end, we have a successful model. We still have a lot to do. Rule 90 - 90 - 90 is now 95 - 95 - 95 which means that 95 percent of people who are living with HIV should be aware of it first. The second group, 95 percent of those who are carriers of the virus should receive therapy and the same percentage of those who receive therapy should have an undetectable level of the virus in the blood. The numbers are quite good in the second and third category, but it is obvious that we still need to work in the area of detecting HIV positive people because we are about 30 percent less than where we should be," said Filipce.

The Infectious Diseases Clinic, where these people are diagnosed and treated, the Minister pointed out, in the past years has introduced another novelty that I believe will become a trend in terms of covering all diagnosed patients, and that is the pre-program that is currently a pilot project and it is something that is a trend done in all developed countries in the world.

He said that the Infectious Diseases Clinic does not treat only patients with COVID-19, but one of the pathologies treated is HIV.

“And that is why I say as a specific example, the Clinic is overloaded with patients who are not vaccinated. So, the citizens must know that it is not only Covid-19, that they must be vaccinated, that the vaccination rate must be increased, that herd immunity must be achieved because people suffer from other diseases, and the experts simply can’t achieve everything. They have neither the ability nor the hospital capacity, etc. So, this is a very specific topic and I use the opportunity to convey through this prism the importance of vaccination. We remain in good communication because only by working together with civil society organizations can we achieve more, especially in these segments in which we see and are aware that we need progress, added Filipce.

Answering a reporter's question, Senih said that most people with HIV are vaccinated, and it is rare to find anti-vaccine stances in people with HIV.

“Regarding COVID -19, fortunately we cannot say that people with HIV had bigger complications, something unusually different from what was in the general population. That is good. But global statistics certainly confirm that people living with HIV are more affected and at higher risk of serious illness if they contract Covid-19, Senich said.

He added that a mural dedicated to Queen singer Freddie Mercury will be unveiled at the Cinematheque at 7 pm, a film dedicated to the singer will be screened at 7:30 pm, and a charity event will be held at 9 pm to raise funds for people living with HIV living in unfavorable social positions.

The Executive Director of the HOPS Association, a representative of the Platform of Organizations Providing HIV Prevention Services to Key Affected Populations, Hajdi Shterjova-Simonovikj, called on the MPs to adopt the amendments to the Law on Health Care, which will institutionalize programs for prevention of HIV. and added that it is very important in the educational process to introduce the topic of sexual and reproductive health that will educate young people regarding the prevention of HIV infection. dk/ba/