According to statistics, the year 2023 closed with 182 deaths due to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), with emphasis on men who have sex with other men (MSM) and the transgender community, Granma newspaper highlights. Manuel Romero, head of Cuba’s National HIV Control and Prevention Program, explained at a press conference on the occasion of World AIDS Day, that the highest percentage of mortality was due to chronic non-transmissible diseases.
That is why Cuba has a project, led by the National Institute of Hygiene together with Prosalud, which studies the causes of the incidence and sets out a strategy to reverse the facts.
He explained that they are working to identify the largest number of people living with HIV, as well as their contacts, to include them in the strategy that is present in 41 health services in all provinces and in which, in a personalized way, complementary or tests are carried out to identify the disease.
In showing the data on the behavior of the disease, he stressed that only 0.4 percent of the population with this sexually transmitted disease prevails, and of this 0.61 percent are men, and 0.18 percent are women.
As part of the strategy, people will acquire protection, advice on the use of condoms, counseling for when symptoms appear, in addition to legal attention focused on the trans community, MSM, pregnant women and other vulnerable populations.
He emphasized that by 2030, it is expected that people with HIV-AIDS will recognize it, have antiretroviral treatment, as well as achieve early detection of the disease to prevent transmission.
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