In Baden-Württemberg there are fewer and fewer people infected with the HIV virus. But the fight against the disease continues. The country is spending more money on this this year.
Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – Baden-Württemberg has almost doubled its funding for AIDS aid associations in the state this year. The institutions were supported with a total of 1.2 million euros – that is around 560,000 euros more than in the previous year, as the Ministry of Social Affairs announced on World AIDS Day on Thursday. The money flows, for example, into so-called checkpoints. The AIDS organizations there – there are a good dozen of them in the southwest – offer anonymous tests for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
According to figures from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), 260 people in Baden-Württemberg were diagnosed with HIV for the first time in 2021. This means that around 13,400 people in the country were living with HIV; around 90,800 nationwide. According to the RKI, almost all people with an HIV diagnosis receive antiviral therapies, which are mostly successful. In other words, those affected are no longer infectious
According to the ministry, HIV numbers have been declining in the southwest for years. Among other things, this is due to good networking and cooperation between various institutions such as the Baden-Württemberg Aidshilfe, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the advice centers of the health authorities. But it is still important to work against exclusion and stigmatization, said Minister of Social Affairs Manne Lucha (Greens). “We still have to educate people about HIV and break down prejudices.”
