Circle Jan2018 low

HEALTH
HIV – The
sobering facts
Malta had the third highest rate of
new HIV diagnoses through 2016,
according to a report issued by
the World Health Organisation
and the European Centre for
Disease Control on December 1,
World Aids Day.
During last year, 29,444
people were diagnosed with HIV
across the EU. Latvia, Estonia and
Malta reported the highest rate of
increase respectively. Malta
reported 63 new cases of HIV –
since 2007, we have seen 387
cases reported.
Testing for HIV is completely anonymous,
with results being returned in 20 minutes.
at a new destination where taboo and
discrimination do not exist.”
Dr Padovese agrees with this
sentiment, especially when it comes to
STIs: “The number of STIs in this country
keeps on growing and growing with
Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea being the
main two offenders. What’s more, we have
to move away from the stigma which
relegates these illnesses to the
homosexual community. There are a
number of people who are visiting these
so-called massage parlours and leaving
with a lot more than so-called ‘happy
endings’. What’s more, people don’t seem
to realise that you can get STI’s from oral
sex as well as penetrative sex. There’s no
point in using a condom for the latter and
not using it for the former.”
ThE MaIn PrObLeM WiTh HiV AnD OtHeR
SeXuAlLy TrAnSmItTeD DiSeAsEs (StIs) Is
ThE FaCt ThAt ThErE IsN’T ThE KiNd Of
FeAr ThErE WaS In ThE 1980S
Matter of fact in her approach, Dr
Padovese feels that the key to moving
forward is the elimination of ignorance and
shame: “It is important to reduce stigma
and educate. I sometimes have people
who come to the clinic to get tested
because they find out that they are
working with an HIV positive person and
panic and this really shouldn’t be the case.
In the future, I would like to see more
outreach activities. I am also particularly
proud of the fact that we have access to
rapid testing which means that people can
come in and get tested for HIV in an
anonymous way and have their result
within 20 minutes. In the future, I also
hope that home testing for the most
common STIs will be readily available. I
feel that the more we normalise the
importance of sexual health, the healthier
our population will be. I look forward to us
discussing things in a more open way.”
12Sunday Circle ∫ JANUARY 2018