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A mobile clinic, 3,000 rapid-response tests, 250 volunteers, 4 counseling centers, and 5,000 users to be reached in 3 Sicilian provinces.
These are the numbers of PrevenGo, a pilot project wanted by Arcigay Palermo and funded by Foundation With the South, which for the first time in Italy addresses prevention, awareness and information on Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) on the road and on such a large scale by combining listening and early diagnosis.
The camper, commissioned specifically It's a real mobile clinic and will be leaving in view of the summer. On board it will host medical staff who, together with Arcigay Palermo and volunteers, will stop in the provinces of Palermo, Trapani, and Agrigento The mobile clinic will operate in various locations across the country, especially in high-traffic areas (nightclubs, schools, universities, town squares) and places most at risk of marginalization, such as cruising spots or prostitution.
The tests are 3000 COMBO rapid response capillary testsA simple fingerstick blood test detects the presence of antibodies against HIV, HCV, and syphilis. This type of test helps reduce fears about hospital screening and increases access to care for those who have never undergone testing and are unaware of their HIV status.
Four help desks for listening, information, screening and reception They will be set up at the University of Palermo and at the Arcigay city office, at Via Rosa alla Gioiamia 2/4, and have various functions: preventing STIs, fighting the stigma of HIV-positive people, listening to and supporting Italian and foreign LGBT people, and helping to combat homophobia, racism, and trafficking related to prostitution.
The volunteers They will be the protagonists of PrevenGo: still in the selection phase, 250 boys and girls will be trained by the project partners and will be entrusted with various project activities depending on their skills and aptitudes. They will also collaborate on information and prevention activities, and to register, simply fill out an online form (https://goo.gl/forms/UssnCEAqOyQRdooG3) and the process for requesting recognition of the 30-hour training within the course in training credits (CFU) is underway.
Arcigay Palermo's partners, The initiative's promoters are Arnas Civico – Di Cristina – Benfratelli, the Nps – Network of HIV-Positive People association (Sicily Section), the ANLAIDS association (Felicia Impastato Section), the UniAttiva university association, the UDU confederation, and the Italian Secretariat of Medical Students (SISM). The project is sponsored by ERSU, the Regional Agency for the Right to Education, and the University of Palermo.
People reached Thanks to the camper, there will be approximately 5,000 people in the three Sicilian provinces, and the Arnass hospital will contribute specialist doctors, becoming the support structure for referrals of users who express the need for additional social and health services.
HIV infections in Italy are on the rise according to the 2015 Newsletter of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità. In particular among migrants and MSM (men who have sexual relations with men).
Sicily It is among the regions with the highest percentage increase in new HIV diagnoses: the proportion of new diagnoses among MSM increased from 31% in 2010 to 40.9% in 2014. Among these, the proportion of foreigners increased from 11% in 1992 to 27.10% in 2014 and the highest incidence was observed among people aged between 25 and 29 (15.6 cases per 100,000 residents).
Early diagnosis is essential for treatments and with the PrevenGo project, as many as 3,000 people will be able to take rapid tests in a non-institutional setting.
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