The Department of Health of the Government of Navarra detects 30 to 40 new cases of AIDS each year, according to data provided by the Director General of Health, Antonio López, on December 1, International AIDS Day.

Although the pharmacological advances allow the chronification of the disease, Lopez has emphasized that the goal is to eliminate incident cases before 2030 and that more complications may occur. It has also underlined the importance of early detection, since annual cases of 30-40 are diagnoses that take a long time to arrive. "We would like these diagnoses to be made earlier with a view to treatment, with a view to stabilizing the process, which would lead to less contamination," he explained.

This year’s International AIDS Day campaign focuses on guaranteeing the rights of all people, especially the most vulnerable groups, such as immigrants or people in need, “who have more difficulty accessing the health system”. Lopez stressed that these groups must be "the social, political and legislative support" so that "we can all achieve that goal", he added.

Increasing sexually transmitted diseases

The director recalled that the relaxation of preventive measures is causing sexually transmitted diseases to also multiply in Navarra.

"Having a therapeutic response to processes doesn't mean we don't have to put an emphasis on preventing sexually transmitted diseases," he said.