The agreement is part of the Fast-Track Cities initiative on the fast track to ending the HIV epidemic, which aims to accelerate the response to HIV in major cities and to reach the 90-90-90 targets by 2020, proposed in the Paris Declaration: 90% of people living with HIV diagnosed; 90% of people diagnosed in treatment; 90% of people on treatment with undetectable viral load.
The signed protocol defines the terms and conditions of collaboration between institutions working in the area of HIV / AIDS, resulting from the adherence of the municipality of Porto to the Paris Declaration in May 2017. The protocol celebration ceremony took place last May, in the City Hall, and Porto Polytechnic was represented in this act by João Rocha, President of the Institution.
As part of this strategy, and on the occasion of the European HIV-Hepatitis Test Week, the Porto Polytechnic, School of Health (ESS) will host information and screening sessions, to be held by technicians from the Northern Regional Health Administration (ARS). or NGOs with activities associated with the AIDS problem.
Awareness actions take place on 27 (morning) and 28 November (afternoon) in the ESS Auditorium, followed by screenings for all interested in performing the detection test, taking place at the ESS Pedagogical Clinic and a mobile tracking unit.
HIV / AIDS infection is a major public health problem in Europe and Portugal. One of the pressing issues that deserve special attention is that the incidence of HIV in large cities is much higher compared to other areas of the country, and the number of new HIV cases in metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto represents about two-thirds of the number of new infections in Portugal.
Henrique de Barros, scientific and technical coordinator of the Porto Strategy Action Plan, City Without AIDS, noted that in Porto, “the values of the [disease] diagnosis per year per 100,000 inhabitants are almost twice the national average.".
Given the relevant role in responding to HIV infection, cities are in a prime position to lead action, accelerating the response to HIV and meeting the 90-90-90 targets: 90% of people living with HIV.
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