'Forty-Nine Percent of People Living with HIV in Turkey Not Aware of Their HIV Status'

Click to read the article in Turkish

The Positive Solidarity (Pozitif Dayanışma) released a statement yesterday (December 1) on the occasion of the HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

HIV do not directly make people ill and thanks to modern treatment, people who regularly use medicines do not get ill because of "opportunistic infections," which occur as a result of the virus weakening the immune system, the statement stressed. "Therefore, living with HIV is not a state of constant illness and those who live with HIV are not ill."

Despite today's advanced methods of diagnosis and treatment, an estimated 49 percent of the people who live with HIV are not aware of their HIV status, said the statement.

"Although access to diagnosis and treatment of HIV do not seem difficult in Turkey, people avoid regular testing because of reasons such as social prejudices, stigmatization, and the worry of being subjected to discrimination.

"Persistent demand of credentials for testing in public hospitals or private clinics, health care employees not having adequate and accurate information about HIV and exhibiting discriminatory attitude and behavior constitute serious obstacles for people to have regular tests."

The Positive Solidarity called on the Ministry of Health to work with NGOs to train health personnel. (RT/VK)