The third edition of Sexual Health Week took place from June 3 to 9, 2024. In Eure-et-Loir, actions are still being carried out in Chartres and Dreux this week, to extend the actions. This campaign is structured around four themes: sexually transmitted infections, contraception, consent and information on sexual diseases and dysfunctions. It is the ARS – Regional Health Agency – of Centre-Val de Loire which coordinates it, with local structures and professionals.
This year, this national week is of particular importance, given that the number of people testing positive for STIs (sexually transmitted infections) is increasing sharply in the region, particularly regarding HIV. For the department of Eure-et-Loir alone, the latest figures from Public Health France date from 2021. They revealed 106 discoveries of HIV seropositivity between 2016 and 2021, making it the third department most affected by these detections. in Center-Val de Loire. Those under 25 accounted for 14% of these AIDS discoveries, while 70.8% were in the 25-49 age group.
57 new discoveries per million inhabitants
Three years later, without having any official figures for Eure-et-Loir, health professionals are seeing a decline in awareness of the danger of STIs on the ground. Nadia Boumeziane, nurse at CeGIDD 28 (Free Information, Screening and Diagnostic Center of Eure-et-Loir), sounds the alarm: “In 2023, there was a 43% increase in the number of new HIV infections, compared to 2022, in our region. » An increase which corresponds to 57 new discoveries per million inhabitants in the Center region, the second highest rate in mainland France (excluding Île-de-France).
The nurse, who works at CeGIDD 28 from Dreux, recalls that this sexual health week “is an opportunity to engage in an open and non-judgmental dialogue on this issue, and facilitate access to precise and reliable information”. A public health issue therefore with the increase in cases of STIs “particularly among young people, with a considerable drop in the use of condoms”, despite the various national communication campaigns.
An awareness and information action is organized by CeGIDD 28 in Chartres, this Thursday June 13, 2024 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at the Local Mission (32-34, boulevard Adelphe Chasles). A screening and information action on STIs is being implemented on the evening of Friday June 14, 2024, at the V and B in Dreux (4, rue Roland Barbot), by CeGIDD 28.
