This December 1st marks World AIDS Day. In Caledonia, 288 people screened are living with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). 20% of them are monitored by the Solidarité sida NC association and the Committee for the Promotion of Sexual Health (CP2S).
“For my part, I don’t feel concerned because I’m protecting myself”, “we don’t have too much information so we don’t pay too much attention to it anymore”, “our generation doesn’t think about what’s next. They don’t care, they only think about profiting. »
These testimonies from young Caledonians were collected on the occasion of World AIDS Day, this 1is December. If a certain distance from the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seems to persist among young people, for Dominique Solia, president of the Solidarité sida NC association, all generations are affected. Dr Michel Jorda, doctor from the Committee for the Promotion of Sexual Health, also emphasizes the issue of screening in Caledonia. Both guests of the NC la 1ère television news on Saturday November 30, they answered questions from Natacha Lassauce-Cognard.
NC 1era : The AIDS pandemic began forty years ago. Why does this disease still seem to be little known?
Dominique Solia, president of the Solidarité sida NC association: Lack of awareness is probably linked to lack of prevention. We can clearly see that young people have very different perceptions of HIV AIDS. So, we must continue the campaign so that all generations have this information. I also think that we feel a false sense of security in the fact that we no longer die of AIDS when we take treatment.
Your association has existed since 1996, what assessment do you draw from these past twenty-eight years?
There have been extreme advances. Both in terms of prevention and in terms of treatment. Successive governments, associations, players on the ground… We all worked together to put together medium-term plans to combat AIDS, which enabled the epidemic to be contained. It is essential to continue this work, so that the epidemic does not flare up, even if unfortunately all the ingredients are there: high levels of STIs, alcohol use and sexual violence. These are factors that facilitate transmission.
What is the priority in terms of prevention?
Go get tested, to take care of yourself, respect yourself and respect others. Today, HIV-positive people undergoing treatment have a viral load so low that it is said to be undetectable, they no longer transmit HIV. The risk we take in our sexuality is when we have partners who do not know their HIV status.
Is screening scary?
Yes. One of the crucial issues is the weight of discrimination. People, for fear of being judged in the event of a positive diagnosis, avoid screening and even go so far as to ignore the risks. We have to work on our vision and that’s where we are all actors. Because we discriminate when we don’t have enough knowledge, when we are afraid of the difference of others. I encourage everyone to do their research. And when we begin to understand HIV, the other becomes less worrying.
NC 1era : Since 1986 in New Caledonia, 540 cases of HIV have been recorded by the health and social affairs department. Screening activities have been stable for six years. Do all Caledonians have access to these screenings?
Dr Michel Jorda, doctor of the Committee for the Promotion of Sexual Health: Yes. As soon as there is a dispensary we have access to anonymous and free screenings. The problem is will. What we can’t do is motivate people to get tested. It must be understood that, today, a treated HIV positive person is not contagious. The person who is contagious is the one who has not been tested.
Since the 1980s, antiretroviral treatments have evolved significantly. Where are we today?
We had a complete change. In the 80s, antiretroviral treatment was extremely complicated. A cooler with you, specific times, several products to take, solid, liquid. Today, a treated HIV-positive person will live a normal life, like everyone else. He will have two check-ups per year, which is not a lot. It is much easier to live with well-treated HIV, in good conditions, than to live with diabetes.
Are we still talking about triple therapy?
Of course, sometimes it’s even quad or penta therapies, but they’re all in one tablet, it’s life-changing. Instead of taking five, six products all day, which was the nightmare of the time, now it’s one tablet per day and the side effects are fewer.
