During the ceremony for World AIDS Day, the Secretary of Health, Jorge Alcocer Varela, stated that the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, will work in a coordinated manner with all the actors involved to combat misinformation, prejudice, isolation and social indifference towards people living with HIV.
This is the commitment we send to the whole society, but mainly to the key sectors such as men who have sex with men, trans people, injecting drug users and sex workers, sectors that are the most affected by this epidemic.
During the ceremony that took place in the esplanade of the central building of the Secretary of Health, in which attended the general director of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), Germán Martínez Cázares; the president of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), Luis Raúl González Pérez, and the Secretary of Health of Mexico City, Dr. Oliva Pérez Arellano, Dr. Alcocer Varela said that the medium-term goal is that in the 4th Transformation of the country, no Mexican child is born with HIV.
In the framework of the 30th Anniversary of the commemoration of this day, the Secretary of Health said that the needs of the different communities will be heard and responded to, the prevention system will be improved and there will be an opening at all times to adjust the strategy to the requirements for each region and state.
"The Secretary of Health is clear that to eliminate this epidemic in 2030, as established in the Sustainable Development Goals, it must not lower the guard or fall into complacency, so it will continue to look for formulas and innovations to accelerate the progress achieved and face the challenges that still exist, "he explained.
The Secretary of Health mentioned that this year the motto of World AIDS Day is: "Know your state, get tested", which seeks to encourage the population to know their serological status and attend promptly.
Although, it is true that the number of deaths due to AIDS has been reduced, registering in 2017, less than one million deaths in the world, in parallel, it continues to increase the number of new cases.
He acknowledged that there is still a long way to go, because it is still necessary to reach people who live with this virus and do not know their status, and that all of them must have access to quality assistance and prevention services.
The Secretary of Health emphasized that HIV is not only an individual virus, but social, so it is wanted that prevention campaigns work, it must be understood that the impacts not only occur in the body of the host, but also in their families and in the thoughts of the inhabitants of the country, who reproduce the stigma and hinder attention. "That's why we think that a vaccine against the virus is so necessary, but also another against stigma and discrimination."
He stated that Mexico has its institutions, the collaboration of international organizations and civil society to achieve this, but, above all, with health professionals, doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists and researchers to face this challenge.
For his part, the Undersecretary of Prevention of Prevention and Health Promotion, Hugo López-Gatell, explained that in this administration a complete reorganization will be carried out with an eye towards a universal, free, integral and unique health system.
López Gatell said that this is a government of rights, progressive and that seeks to integrate society with a social vision that contributes to the satisfaction of the right to health of the population.
In his speech, Antonio Molpeceres, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Mexico, pointed out that through the construction of support environments, it will encourage the full social and economic participation of all people, ensuring a full life and wellbeing in Mexico, it is how they add to the actions and challenges that the virus represents worldwide.
He specified that the actions have been in favor of implementing the HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, known as PREP, in order to be implemented within public policies for the prevention and care of this disease.
He reported that it is estimated that in Mexico there are around 230 thousand people with HIV, and that if this trend continues, it is projected for the year 2030, the number will increase to 250 thousand cases.
The president of the CNDH, Luis Raúl González Pérez, pointed out that the HIV / AIDS epidemic transcends the medical field and is inserted in human rights, because the discrimination and stigmatization of these patients violate their development in all areas.
He said that the HIV pandemic is controlled, but society should not lower guard, it should strengthen contact with the affected population so that HIV is not an obstacle to their development.
Finally, the director of Letter S, Alejandro Brito Lemus, commented that the best tool to fight HIV is the diagnosis and timely treatment. That is why the motto of the commemoration of World AIDS Day, which refers to the timely identification of the disease, is very important.
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