Innovative
Initiatives in Spain
Tito Drago
Madrid
Positivo, a Spanish non-governmental organisation that
helps homeless people and others living with HIV/AIDS
kick their drug habit, while curbing the spread of AIDS,
awarded its annual prizes Monday for outstanding efforts
in the fight against the disease.
MADRID,
Nov 29 (IPS) - The awards not only recognised the
work of the prize-winners, but the efforts of the NGO
itself, which has undertaken a number of successful, innovative
initiatives.
One
of the main achievements of Madrid Positivo, which was
founded in 1997, is a needle exchange programme for intravenous
drug users, which has helped curb the spread of HIV, the
AIDS virus, among that sector of the population in Spain.
This
year's prize-winners were filmmaker Fernando Trueba, for
his film ÓEl milagro de CandealÓ (The Miracle of Candeal);
Mar’a Jesœs Utrillas, the director of a homeless shelter;
and the Pepsa Programme run by the ministry of equality
and social welfare of the government of the southern province
of Andalus’a, which is headed by socialist Governor Manuel
Chaves.
The
prizes were awarded ahead of World AIDS Day, which is
commemorated Dec. 1.
Accepting
the award, Trueba said he is actually a ÓcowardÓ who backs
away from problems, adding that all he did was Óshow a
problem and people who face up to it and help fix it,
like Madrid Positivo.Ó
The
achievements of Madrid Positivo are Óoutstanding and concrete,Ó
Dr. JosŽ Miguel Monz—n told IPS. Monz—n is better known
as ÓEl Gran WyomingÓ, the host of the popular Spanish
TV show ÓCaiga quien caigaÓ.
Monz—n,
a medical doctor by profession, said Madrid Positivo pulls
drug addicts and homeless people testing positive for
HIV out of the vicious circle of their lives by helping
them receive treatment. The organisation has distributed
more than two million needles to drug abusers in Madrid,
to help prevent the spread of AIDS. The NGO also hands
out methadone, a synthetic opiate, to homeless drug users.
Methadone produces similar effects to heroin or morphine,
and is used as a legal substitute for heroin to help addicts
get through the symptoms of withdrawal while undergoing
detoxification, or to relieve some of the problems associated
with heroin addiction.
Monz—n
also praised the NGO's Ówork with these groups, in fighting
drug abuse with positive measures, transporting those
who are ill to treatment centres, and fomenting prevention.Ó
Jorge
GutiŽrrez Perera, the president of Madrid Positivo, told
IPS that in Spain the statistics of people living with
HIV/AIDS are not reliable.
To
illustrate, he pointed out that 60 percent of those who
were officially diagnosed in 2003 previously had no idea
whatsoever that they tested positive. ÓThese figures indicate
that there are thousands of people who do not know they
have been infected, and we mustn't forget that the HIV-positive
person who is unaware of his or her condition is a source
of risk of transmission of the disease,Ó he underlined.
The
situation is made more complex by the massive influx of
undocumented immigrants who do not undergo medical testing
when they arrive in the country.
Moreover,
immigrants without the proper papers do not have access
to the health care system, except in the case of a medical
emergency.
According
to official statistics, sexual transmission of AIDS is
on the rise, since this is currently the source of 75
percent of new infections. And 41 percent of those who
contract the disease through sexual relations do not use
condoms.
One
of Madrid Positivo's main priorities is working with prisoners
and in the city's slums, where HIV-positive intravenous
drug users make up between 30 to 40 percent of the population.
The NGO stated on Monday that the fact that these ÓpocketsÓ
of drug use and trafficking are growing and spreading
throughout Spain means a review of the country's drug-related
policies and new resources to deal with the situation
are necessary.
For
years, drug users have been Óhidden and abandonedÓ in
poor neighbourhoods of Spain, resulting in thousands of
people seriously damaged by years of addiction and life
on the streets, who now constitute a Ómajor public health
problem,Ó says a statement released by Madrid Positivo.
The
group has found that its needle exchange and methadone
distribution programmes, as well as its mobile treatment
centres, have made an effective contribution to combating
the epidemic in this sector of the population. GutiŽrrez
Perera believes there is still a great deal that needs
to be done in Spain and the rest of Europe.
But
the most serious AIDS problem is in the developing countries,
and particularly in Africa. According to the World Health
Organisation (WHO), there are almost 27 million recorded
cases of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, out of a worldwide
total of 42 million. However, only 400,000 Africans have
access to anti-retroviral drug therapy, which slows down
the development of the disease and extends the life-span
of those infected.
GutiŽrrez
Perera said this situation calls for Óa firm commitment
from civil society and governments in the developed countries
towards the Third World, primarily out of solidarity,
but also as a means of eliminating sources of contagion,
which always end up crossing borders.Ó
For
his part, Juan AndrŽs Mart’nez, the spokesman for the
Episcopal Conference of the Catholic church -- Spain's
principal religion -- spoke out against the campaign to
promote condom use as a means of preventing the sexual
transmission of HIV/AIDS.
This
kind of advice Ómisleads young people and trivialises
the problem,Ó Mart’nez said. As far as the Episcopal Conference
is concerned, condom use does not prevent HIV infection,
which is why young people should be educated on the real
way to avoid the disease: by saying no to sex outside
of marriage.
