The Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections is approved
In order to reduce the incidence of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), as well as to strengthen the accessibility and effectiveness of testing, diagnosis and treatment of these diseases, and to promote tolerance among people living with these diseases, the Ministry of Health has approved the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS and STIs for the period of 2024-2030.
"The prevalence of HIV in Lithuania has been steadily declining over the past five years, with the prevalence of the virus in the general population reaching 0.2% in 2022. Although the result looks good, we are still far from the goal of 95% of infected people knowing they are living with the virus, 95% of them receiving effective treatment and the same proportion of those receiving treatment achieving good treatment outcomes - in other words, suppressing the virus from multiplying and concentrating in the blood," says Danguolė Jankauskienė, Deputy Minister of Health.
The United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) strategy sets a global goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030, and its nearer-term (by 2025) targets 95-95-95, which call for 95% of people living with HIV to know they are HIV-positive, 95% to be treated with antiretroviral drugs, and for 95% of those receiving treatment to be treated effectively, i.e. to have a blood level of human immunodeficiency virus less than 1 000 copies/mL.
In Lithuania, the indicators for meeting the UNAIDS targets in 2022 were 87-47-95.
In order to strengthen the prevention of HIV/AIDS and STIs, the Action Plan 2024-2030 approved by the SAM foresees awareness raising measures for the public and target groups, as well as a wider use of preventive measures in groups at risk. It is planned to increase the coverage of HIV and STI testing, to improve the integration of newly diagnosed persons into HIV treatment, and to ensure continuity of treatment for persons who have started HIV treatment.
Improving the quality and accessibility of HIV and STI services will be supported by the upgrading of the skills of health professionals, research and analysis to identify problems, the improvement of the legal framework to ensure accessibility and continuity of testing and treatment, and the provision of integrated services. Improving HIV/AIDS and STI surveillance is planned, both domestically and in cooperation with foreign partners.
For more details on the Action Plan, click here.
According to the Action Plan, according to the National Centre for Public Health (NCPH), a total of 3,835 people living with HIV were identified in Lithuania during the period 1988-2022, of whom 54.8% were infected by injecting drug use, 24.6% by heterosexual contact, 9.2% by homosexual contact, 0.2% perinatally, and 11.2% with unknown mode of infection. Recently, an increasing number of new infections through sexual intercourse has been observed. The number of men infected with HIV is almost four times higher than the number of women: 2791 and 744 respectively.
Also, the incidence of syphilis in Lithuania decreased in 2020 by 1.97 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, increased in 2021 by 4.2 cases and decreased again in 2022 by 3.0 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The incidence of gonorrhoea remained stable between 2020 and 2021 at 1.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and increased slightly in 2022 at 1.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The incidence of chlamydiosis increases from 2020 onwards, from 6.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020 to 9.1 cases in 2022.
Last updated: 15-07-2024
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