"Being HIV-positive is still too expensive"

Health

Non-profit organization ExAequo, an badociation fighting against AIDS, launched a petition calling for complete free healthcare for people living with HIV.

For the badociation ExAequo, which fights against AIDS, " being HIV-positive is still too expensive ". Contaminated people have to go to the doctor every six months, do blood tests, smears, vaccines, and often go to sessions with the psychologist. Many of these medical and para-medical services are not always reimbursed. An injustice for the non-profit organization, which launched a petition.

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250 euros per month

" It's especially the first year that costs super expensive, explains Arnaud, 29 years old. Because, at first, we go three to six times a month in consultation ". This employee of ExAequo estimates that he has in the three years following the discovery of his HIV status disbursed each month more than 250 euros to heal. And the situation is not necessarily improving for patients who, thanks to treatment, live longer and longer. As you get older, a person with HIV is confronted with new diseases that cause other complications and additional costs.

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The badociation also points to disparities in the medical monitoring implemented by the AIDS Reference Centers (CRS). " Some doctors impose a treatment, others leave the choice to the person ", details Arnaud. Tests to detect badually transmitted infections (STIs) are sometimes different, such as their periodicity. The non-profit organization therefore asks for a care path that links patients, general practitioners and specialists, in order eventually to achieve free treatment and a better reimbursement of specific paramedical care.

A first version of the petition launched by ExAequo has already collected more than 1,700 signatures, including those of some thirty badociations such as Médecins du Monde, the AIDS Prevention Platform and the Rainbow House. It must be submitted Thursday to the Federal Minister of Public Health, Maggie De Block. The second version will be tabled in the minister's office at the end of January in the form of postcards representing each signature.

With Belga