Skopje, 1 December 2024 (MIA) — Not only has the state not earmarked the necessary funding for the national Program for the Protection of the Population against HIV Infection for 2025 but it has cut the draft budget even more, which will result in discontinuing HIV-testing services in ten cities nationwide, the Stronger Together association for supporting people living with HIV said in a press release on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, the international day of reflection to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.

According to the association, HIV infection is an ongoing public health and social problem that authorities need to address.

"The global goal is to end the HIV epidemic as a public health problem by 2030. On this day, we sadly draw attention to the authorities' shortsightedness regarding this health issue.

"For 2025, it is necessary to provide at least Mden 130 million to cover HIV medications (109 million) and HIV prevention (21 million). The funding that is currently earmarked, Mden 90 million, will not be enough to provide the needed medical treatment for 500 patients, including those who will be diagnosed in 2025, so any prevention measures face the risk of being completely discontinued, and about 8,000 citizens from marginalized communities face the risk of being left without the most basic health care," the release adds.

The national HIV prevention system, which was established over the past 20 years, has helped the country successfully prevent a wider HIV epidemic among people who use drugs as well as keep the epidemic at a low level, according to the civil society association.

Stronger Together also points out that over USD 25 million in international funds and over EUR 4 four million in domestic funds have been invested in these HIV prevention services so far, the benefits of which would be lost if the existing HIV prevention services were gone.

"A series of services will be discontinued in ten cities across the country, including a mobile clinic and stationary HIV-testing centers, a mobile OB-GYN clinic for women from marginalized communities and rural areas, drug use harm reduction services, services for diagnosing sexually transmitted diseases, and other services used by several thousand people, about a third of whom are young people," the release says.

In 2023, HIV-testing conducted by civil society organizations among groups at risk has detected several times more HIV cases, proportional to the number of tests performed, compared to the public and private health sectors combined, the Stronger Together activists say.

They urge Parliament, the Ministry of Finance and the Government to reconsider this issue and provide the necessary minimum funding in the amount of Mden 130 million for 2025.

This decision, they say, will directly help prevent new HIV infections and deaths. At the same time, it will prevent spending more money from the budget in the future that would be otherwise spent in the next few years on treating an increasing number of HIV cases as well as on treating complications resulting from delayed diagnosis.

According to the civil society organization, the country has a relatively low number of HIV cases. It is estimated that some 30 percent of the total number of people living with HIV are unaware of their infection. Also, about half of the newly discovered cases are late diagnoses. This means, they say, that the country is lagging behind other countries, which shows a lack of HIV awareness and prevention measures, especially testing.

Stronger Together adds that it will be marking Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, as well as its 15th anniversary, with a charity exhibition of works by students of the Faculty of Art and Design at the European University in Skopje.

All proceeds will go to people living with HIV who are at high social risk. The event is held under this year’s Stronger Together campaign slogan “HIV Does Not Make Me Less of a Person.”

The campaign was developed pro bono by the New Moment agency and is being implemented with the support of the European Union, among other supporters. mr/