Caritas Malta is concerned that whereas HIV/Aids infections have decreased worldwide, the numbers for Europe tell a different story – the rate of new cases in the European Union has almost doubled since 1999. True European figures could be much higher, as it is estimated that almost one-third of people living with HIV in Europe are not aware that they are infected.

A United Nations Aids Epidemic Update published in November says that more than 33 million people worldwide are infected with HIV/Aids. In 2007 alone, 2.5 million people have become newly infected and 2.1 million have died of Aids. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the number of people living with the disease this year rose to 1.6 million, with around 150,000 new infections. The UN update says that nearly 90 per cent of new cases were recorded in Russia and Ukraine.

Within the Maltese context the infection has been most commonly spread by the sexual transmission route, Caritas said.

On the occasion of World AIDS Day, marked today, Caritas Malta

• urges a compassionate, non-judgmental response to people living with AIDS or otherwise affected by HIV;

• encourages a value-based approach to prevention to avoid further spread of HIV infection. The strength of future married love depends on the strength of present efforts to learn about true love and to practice self-control;

• realises that the pandemic reaches far beyond the problems of individual behaviour and that both the root causes and the solutions of the pandemic must be approached from a global perspective. Only a response that takes into account both the medical aspect of the illness, as well as the human, cultural, ethical, and religious dimension of life, can offer full solidarity to its victims and raises the hope that the epidemic of HIV / AIDS can be controlled;

• advocates to make anti-retroviral medications, that are capable to prolong the life of people living with AIDS available to all people in the world;

• renews its commitment to ensure, together with 175 Caritas Member Organisations in the world and other Catholic organisations and agencies active in this field, that the necessary resources should be made available to cure our sick brothers and sisters, who often also live in situations of great poverty. (It is estimated that 26.7 per cent of the Centres providing services to people living with the virus are administered by Catholic Church-related structures);

• encourages young people to use the services Caritas, the Health Promotion Unit and the GU Unit at Boffa Hospital are providing to counsel, monitor, test and offer guidelines.

In its bid to educate people to evade situations which expose individuals to the danger of contracting HIV, Caritas Malta uses its school-based programmes to target young people when they are at a vulnerable age with the aim of promoting responsible behaviour based on Christian morality. Through its Xefaq programme, it provides pre-test and post-test counselling to persons who are at risk.

Caritas Malta appeals to anyone who thinks he/she is at risk of having contracted the HIV virus to call Caritas for further exploration of their dilemma on tel. numbers 2590-6600 or 2123-3933 during office hours. Strict confidentiality is adhered to.