New HIV/AIDS Bill Slammed by Panamanian Human Rights Groups as 'Moralistic'.
| Autor | Reynolds, Louisa |
A bill on the treatment of people with HIV/ AIDS put forward by Panama's health ministry, the Ministerio de Salud, in August 2017 has drawn criticism from human rights groups, which have raised concerns over its "moralistic" and religious overtones.
The health ministry says the bill was drawn up after a nine-month discussion with organizations working with people with HIV/AIDS, with the aim of updating the current legal framework, which was established in 2000. Although the bill purportedly aims to fight HIV-stigma and discrimination and ensure HIV/AIDS patients receive treatment, the International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW) says the bill doesn't address the problems of the most vulnerable groups, such as men who have sex with men, transgender women, sex workers, and prisoners.
According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Panama has one of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in Central America, with 16,493 people diagnosed among its population of 3.5 million. Since 1984, 26,879 cases of HIV/AIDS have been recorded in the country. The worst affected demographic group are young people between the ages of 15 and 19 (NotiCen, June 23, 2011).
Women make up 28% of the country's HIV/AIDS patients, and 42.7% of those women are pregnant. The provinces with the highest HIV/AIDS incidence are the Panama City metropolitan area with 461; San Miguelito, with 212; the Ngabe-Bugle indigenous territory, with 173; and Colon, with 139.
The HIV stigma
The government says the new bill seeks to fight the stigma of having HIV. Since 2016, the health ministry has provided free and universal HIV treatment and is now seeking to increase HIV testing, after launching a national campaign in 2015. Panama began to offer free HIV tests for pregnant women, key populations, and adolescents in 2016.
In June 2017, Panama's first lady, Lorena Castillo de Varela, delivered a forceful speech against the stigmatization of HIV patients during the opening of the 40th meeting of the UNAIDS coordinating board in Geneva, Switzerland.
"Discrimination is a serious violation of human rights," she said. "It is illegal, immoral and inhumane. We all deserve to live with dignity." Castillo the UNAIDS special ambassador for AIDS in Latin America, said everyone should have access to health and education services without fear of harassment, mistreatment, or exclusion. Fighting discrimination was the first step toward ending the AIDS epidemic, she said. Castillo...
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