El Salvador
Gets Tough On AIDS
San Salvador - El Salvador's new leftist
government of President Mauricio Funes is
getting tough on fighting HIV/AIDS in the
Central America country, the Spanish news
agency EFE reported.
The administration said it expected more
than 60,000 Salvadorans to take advantage of
free HIV testing offered by the government
on National HIV Test Day.
“I say with great satisfaction that in El
Salvador, as everywhere else in the world,
we are getting ready to conquer this
epidemic,” Deputy Health Minister Violeta
Menjivar said.
The new government took office June 1, and
Menjivar said it is committed to fighting
the AIDS pandemic, announcing that the
health ministry will cover 100 percent of
medication for patients.
Officials also say they understand that
stigma against AIDS patients remains,
especially among gay men.
“We have made the human and political
decision to work against stigmas,” Menjivar
said.
The administration says 22,000 Salvadorans
have been infected with the virus that
causes AIDS since 1984,another 692 people
have tested positive in 2009.
“HIV is the most democratic virus in the
world – it doesn't care if you are white, if
you're rich or if you're poor. Anyone can
get it,” Guillermo Galvan, national director
of the HIV/AIDS Program, told the press.
Galvan urged Salvadorans to “overcome fear”
and take the test.
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