[:it]Bologna, March 25, 2017 – The first one was made public a few days ago National Plan of Interventions against HIV and AIDS (PNAIDS) of Italian history. "The Ministry's advisory sections dealing with HIV worked on the document," explains Michele Breveglieri, head of health and HIV at Arcigay, "and we played our part in the discussion and drafting of several sections. It's a historic document in its own right, as it defines in detail broad objectives that have long been ignored in our country, including, for example, special attention to so-called key populations (including men who have sex with men and transgender people) and diversified strategies for HIV testing, including testing offered directly by associations." The PNAIDS has already received the opinion of the Superior Health Council and will be examined by the State-Regions conference. It's a document that, if fully implemented, could eradicate the epidemic in Italy within a few years. However, it's an innovation with both positive and negative aspects. "From the perspective of resource investment, there's nothing new and only shadows for now," Breveglieri warns. "There's currently no investment commensurate with the ambitious goals, and the plan risks remaining a dream." In order to work, the plan will either require a special national spending investment, perhaps through a reform of Law 135 on HIV, which dates back to another era of the epidemic, or an adjustment to the LEA (Minimum Levels of Assistance) that the Regions must guarantee in healthcare. "The paradox," Breveglieri continues, "is that an update of the LEA has just been released, in which HIV simply doesn't exist. What currently defines the real HIV objectives is a National Prevention Plan in which HIV has a meager place, with a single indicator whose performance, commensurate with the actions taken, is unknown." “We strongly urge the Government and Regions to proceed quickly with redefining the entire resource planning framework,’ Breveglieri concludes, ”dedicating adequate revisions to the LEA, the National Prevention Plan, and Law 135 itself with new resources to the objectives of the PNAIDS.’[:]
