Protégé : PrEP awareness and uptake and HIV testing data

17 février 2025

Partenariat VIH Mi-Health - Phase 2 !

12 Février 2024

Nous sommes ravis de lancer la deuxième phase de notre partenariat VIH Mi-Health dans les prochaines semaines afin d'élargir notre champ d'action et d'approfondir notre impact dans la région européenne ! Notre vision demeure la même : une Europe où tous les migrants peuvent réaliser une vie saine et sûre.

Nous continuerons à tirer parti de l'expertise et de l'expérience des défenseurs de la santé des migrants sur le terrain. Nous savons que c'est cette collaboration qui nous permet d'élaborer des solutions innovantes pour combattre les inégalités en matière de santé des migrants dans la région européenne. Nous mettrons l'accent sur :

• Conscience et accès à la PrEP
• Éducation et dépistage du VIH
• Droits au traitement du VIH
• Politique en matière de VIH

We will continue to enhance the individual and collective capacity of our Partnership by sharing resources, best practice and knowledge in order to influence and impact national and regional policy. Our goal is a European region that it is more responsive to the healthcare needs of migrants living with or at risk for HIV and who are excluded from mainstream healthcare pathways.

AAF Programmes Director Denis Onyango says, “This programme enables us to continue advocating for health equity for migrants in precarious circumstances across Europe, to press for the right to health to meaningfully extend to all regardless of migration status and to empower migrant communities. We’re looking forward to what we can achieve when migrant communities come together.”

Le partenariat VIH de Mi-Health est enthousiaste et déterminé à capitaliser sur nos réalisations clés de la première phase de notre partenariat :

• Nous avons mobilisé et testé 2 402 migrants en situation précaire et ceux exclus des services de dépistage du VIH, et avons constaté que 154 étaient séropositifs (taux de prévalence de 6,41 %).

• Nous avons orienté 1 071 migrants vers des services de santé dans 10 pays européens.

• Notre partenariat a co-créé et produit 54 ressources éducatives uniques sur le VIH dans 9 langues différentes, et a diffusé 17 020 documents auprès des migrants.

• Nous avons mis en place un forum d'échange communautaire cohésif qui soutient nos organisations de première ligne, et 93 % de nos partenaires ont convenu ou fortement convenu que leurs organisations avaient réalisé quelque chose qu'elles n'auraient pas pu accomplir autrement en raison de leur implication dans le partenariat VIH de Mi-Health.

• Nous avons recueilli des données inédites, désagrégées et de haute qualité sur les migrants et le VIH, et avons présenté nos conclusions lors de trois conférences internationales.

• Nous avons organisé un sommet sans précédent axé sur le VIH dans le contexte de la migration, auquel ont participé plus de 89 délégués clés.

We are ever grateful to Gilead Sciences for supporting our work, for their dedication to health equity and for supporting community-led and community-based organisations. To see a snapshot of the data on migrant HIV-related outcomes and social determinants of health that we collected during the first round of our Partnership, please flip through the tabs below.

Pour en savoir plus sur notre partenariat ou pour vous impliquer, veuillez envoyer un e-mail à : mihealth@africadvocacy.org.Dans l'attente de votre réponse.

Mind the Gap : Rapport du sommet sur la migration et le VIH

30 mars 2023

We brought together supporters and stakeholders from 21 European countries on 2 – 3 November 2022 for our first annual Mind the Gap: Migration and HIV Summit. Though we know that migrant communities are innovative, resilient and effective at creating impact in their localities, oftentimes with limited resources and institutional support, our summit was an acknowledgement that we can make greater progress by leveraging our collective expertise, experience and perspectives to address the common challenges that migrant communities face across Europe when trying to access healthcare.

The summit spanned two days:

• 59 participants highlighted the expertise and innovation from the community on day one
• 73 participants focused on a high-level policy roundtable on day two

Conversations and sessions among migrant-led organisations; those living with HIV; academics; representations from UNAIDS, WHO, the European Commission and IAPAC; funders; representatives from pharmaceuticals; and other supporters ultimately pointed towards the lack of immigration status as the key barrier preventing migrants from accessing healthcare in Europe. This exclusion is underpinned by:

• restrictive conditions along migration journeys that exacerbate health inequities and expose migrants to increased health risks
• legal, social, cultural, practical and economic barriers to HIV prevention and care services
• anti-migrant movements across the EU/EEA
• punitive policies that limit support for migrants in precarious circumstances
• xenophobic, homophobic, transphobic, anti-sex worker and racist vitriol, stigma and discrimination
• the fallouts from COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine that compound healthcare disparities, systems inadequacies and social and economic inequalities impacting Black and ethnic minority migrant communities

The gaps

Our full report details the barriers and gaps identified by stakeholders that impede the realisation of universal healthcare for migrants and they are broadly summarised as:

• the prevention and testing gap
• the access gap
• the data gap
• the stigma gap
• the policy gap

You can watch recordings of the summit ici. and download the full report below to see explanations of these gaps and stakeholder recommendations for improving migrant health outcomes. Our Mi-Health Europe team is leading a working group to draft a position paper based on summit outcomes and we continue to gather data with our Mi-Health HIV Partnership to better advocate for migrant-responsive and inclusive healthcare policies. We look forward to bringing supporters and stakeholders together again later in 2023 to further narrow these gaps and more fully include migrants living with or at risk for HIV in healthcare in Europe.

A final note

Without the diverse perspectives and expertise of all participants and stakeholders, the first of its kind Mind the Gap summit would not have offered the engaging and action-oriented experience that it was. We wish to warmly thank all for their participation, enthusiasm and feedback. Their knowledge and experiences were instrumental in discussions, group work and in shaping the direction of our future work. We would also like to especially thank our capable steering committee members and summit collaborators for their expertise, support and time. As always, we remain grateful for our Mi-Health HIV Partnership members as well as for the continued support of our sponsors.

Recordings of summit ici.

Êtes-vous prêt pour l'année ?

16 janvier 2023

By: Lissilanne Silva (@lissilanne)

The year just started. New resolutions are being drawn. Do yours include keeping your sexual health in check? Are you PrEParing yourself for the months ahead?

If you’re not familiar with PrEP – Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a medication that can help prevent HIV transmission. It is taken daily by individuals who are at high risk of contracting HIV, such as people who have multiple sexual partners or who are in a sexual relationship with an partner who has a detectable viral load or unknown HIV status. This is one of the greatest advances to prevent transmission of HIV, since for many years such type of preventive medicine wasn’t available.

PrEP is highly effective at reducing the risk of HIV transmission and has been shown to be an important tool in the fight against HIV. However, despite its effectiveness, PrEP use remains low in certain communities, particularly among migrant populations in Europe. Migrants may face barriers to accessing PrEP due to language barriers, lack of insurance and lack of knowledge about the medication.

There are some steps that might increase the uptake of PrEP, such as providing education and awareness about PrEP and its effectiveness in preventing HIV transmission. This can be done through community-based organizations or through partnerships with migrant-led organizations. It is also important to ensure that information about PrEP is provided in a language that is accessible to migrants and that cultural sensitivity is taken into consideration.

Another action might be addressing the accessibility of the medicine for migrant populations. This can include providing PrEP at reduced or no cost, as well as ensuring that there are enough healthcare providers who are trained to prescribe and monitor PrEP use. It is also important to address any legal barriers that may prevent migrants from accessing PrEP, such as immigration status or, in the case of some countries, lack of insurance.

Additionally, providing education and resources for safer sex practices, such as using condoms, remains critical to reduce the risk of HIV and other STIs. This might include providing free condoms and promoting their use, as well as providing education about the importance of regular testing for HIV and other STIs.

On the other hand, stigma surrounding HIV and PrEP sadly remains prevalent. Reducing (or eliminating) this factor also includes sharing the realities of people living with HIV and the effectiveness of ART in managing the virus.

But now the year is 2023 and we can write a better page of our story, right?  Shall we then include zero tolerance for any sort of discrimination and promote PrEP use among all key populations, including wide access to sexual health services for migrant communities in Europe?

Mi-Health Europe is surveying the levels of PrEP awareness and uptake among migrants in Europe, as this is an important step in reducing HIV transmission and improving the overall health of our communities. We believe that access through education, resources and addressing barriers to access, it is possible to increase PrEP use and reduce the burden of HIV among migrant populations. That´s is one of our wishes for 2023!

Visit us ici. and find out where you can access PrEP and other treatment support in your country.

Watch this space for updates on our Mi-Health HIV Partnership. Would your organization be interested in partnering with us?We would love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out at mihealth@africadvocacy.org.

Journée mondiale du sida 2022 : et si le résultat est positif ?

6 décembre 2022

By: Lissilanne Silva (@lissilanne)

Close to 2 million people became infected with HIV in 2021, adding up to the global estimation of the 38 million people currently living with the virus.

As World AIDS Day is celebrated this month, now is the time for reflection and urgent action. Today, as we write this piece of message, we wish to draw attention and raise awareness to action we all should take regardless any HIV result.

 We need to educate ourselves

Regardless of all medical breakthroughs, there are still many myths and misconception about HIV. The impact of this is highly detrimental as it not only keeps people from seeking appropriate HIV care but also from disclosing the status out of fear. Stigma kills. Stigma prevents people from coming forward and seeking help.

Our status, our health: test always

Access to HIV treatment is free in the United Kingdom regardless your immigration status (and you can find information on other EU/EEA countries ici.). Antiretroviral therapy or ART is available for those that know their status. This is the only way to keep a healthier life for years. It´s been proven that early access to treatment offers greater benefits as treatment helps reducing viral load (which is the amount HIV in the blood), reduces the appearance of other HIV-related illness and prevents transmission to others. HIV preventing medicine is available called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and is highly effective.

Demystification

1. HIV diagnosis is not a death sentence (anymore)
2. U = U
3. HIV ≠ AIDS
4. You can live healthier with a positive HIV diagnosis
5. Appropriate HIV care is available
6. Safe sex always regardless of the status
7. Stand for zero discrimination and stigma
8. You can get pregnant and have kids (if you wish)
9. You’re entitled to privacy (regardless)

At Mi Health Europe, we work with diverse communities to ensure that information is accessible and embraced. We share out available services and respect your privacy.

Watch this space for updates on our Mi-Health HIV Partnership. Would your organization be interested in partnering with us?

We would love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out at mihealth@africadvocacy.org.

Annonce de notre sommet sur le VIH chez les migrants (Mind the Gap : Migrant HIV Summit) !

15 septembre 2022

Organisé par Africa Advocacy Foundation et ses partenaires. Partenariat Mi-Health VIHLe premier sommet annuel Mind the Gap : Migrant HIV Summit aura lieu les 2 et 3 novembre 2022 à Bruxelles, en Belgique.

La vision de Mi-Health Europe est celle d'une région européenne dans laquelle tous les migrants peuvent mener une vie saine et sûre. Nous pensons qu'en mettant en valeur et en renforçant l'expertise et l'expérience des défenseurs de première ligne, des migrants et des personnes aux identités croisées, nous pouvons collaborer pour trouver des solutions innovantes et fondées sur des données aux inégalités de santé des migrants ; partager les ressources, les meilleures pratiques et les connaissances dans toute la région ; et influencer les politiques nationales et régionales pour qu'elles répondent mieux aux besoins de santé des migrants vivant avec le VIH et exposés au risque de contamination.

Les migrants vivant dans l'UE/EEE sont particulièrement vulnérables au VIH et doivent surmonter des obstacles juridiques, sociaux, culturels, linguistiques et économiques uniques pour accéder aux services de prévention et de soins. La montée des mouvements anti-migrants dans toute la région a également engendré une nouvelle vague de politiques punitives, un soutien limité aux migrants en situation vulnérable et un vitriol xénophobe, homophobe, transphobe et raciste. En outre, les retombées du COVID-19 et de la guerre en Ukraine continuent d'aggraver les disparités en matière de soins de santé, les insuffisances des systèmes et les inégalités sociales et économiques qui touchent les minorités noires et ethniques.

Bien que limitées, les données disponibles illustrent ces privations.

• Bien qu'ils ne représentent que 12% de la population de l'UE, les migrants ont représenté 44% des nouveaux diagnostics de VIH en 2019.⁽¹⁾
• 35% des migrants contractent le VIH après leur arrivée en Europe⁽²⁾
• 20 pays de l'UE/EEE signalent des lacunes importantes dans les services de prévention du VIH pour les sans-papiers⁽³⁾

Africa Advocacy Foundation et son programme Mi-Health Europe, représentant nos organisations partenaires dans 10 pays européens à forte prévalence, organisent le sommet Mind the Gap afin d'explorer une approche plus globale pour répondre aux besoins de santé des migrants à travers l'UE.

Nous invitons toute une série de parties prenantes, y compris des partenaires de notre Partenariat Mi-Health VIHLe thème "Mind the Gap" (combler le fossé) réunira des représentants de la société civile, d'organisations dirigées par des migrants, de chercheurs universitaires, de décideurs politiques et de commissaires. Ensemble, nous nous pencherons sur les questions suivantes

• les principaux défis et lacunes dans la cascade de soins liés au VIH, y compris les expériences vécues en première ligne
• les lacunes en matière de données et de recherche sur le VIH, y compris le lancement d'une pétition pour de meilleures données sur les migrants
• des lignes directrices en matière de prévention, de dépistage et de traitement pour les migrants, y compris l'accès à des interventions biomédicales innovantes telles que la PrEP et l'U=U
• défendre une approche plus large de l'inclusion et de l'équité en matière de santé, indépendamment de l'appartenance ethnique ou de l'origine
• des moyens pratiques de répondre aux besoins immédiats en matière de VIH des migrants provenant de zones de conflit, telles que l'Ukraine et la région du Sahel

Structure

• Le premier jour, les acteurs communautaires présenteront leurs expériences en première ligne et réfléchiront aux messages clés et aux points de discussion pour le deuxième jour.
• La deuxième journée sera consacrée à une table ronde avec des décideurs politiques et des institutions clés sur les recommandations et les mesures à prendre pour influencer les politiques et les pratiques en matière de VIH et de soins de santé dans le but de faire progresser l'agenda de la santé des migrants dans toute l'Europe.

Surveillez cet espace pour obtenir de plus amples informations sur le sommet. Pour toute question ou pour participer, contactez Denis Onyango, directeur des programmes, à l'adresse suivante denis@africadvocacy.org.

⁽¹⁾ https://www.aidsmap.com/news/aug-2021/over-third-hiv-cases-among-migrants-europe-were-acquired-after-migration

⁽²⁾ https://www.aidsmap.com/news/aug-2021/over-third-hiv-cases-among-migrants-europe-were-acquired-after-migration

⁽³⁾ Centre européen de prévention et de contrôle des maladies. VIH et migrants. Suivi de la mise en œuvre de la Déclaration de Dublin sur le partenariat pour la lutte contre le VIH/sida en Europe et en Asie centrale : rapport d'activité 2017 Stockholm : ECDC ; 2017.

"La variole du singe n'est pas une maladie gay !

15 septembre 2022

By: Lissilanne Silva (@lissilanne)

Oscar Bolaños Melian has been volunteering for the past 3 years at Noaks Ark Mosaik, one of the Mi-Health HIV Partnership partner organisations in Sweden, where he migrated to nearly 5 years ago. Oscar is part of the Partnership Steering Committee, an HIV advocate and an art lover. He has also candidly shared with us his life experiences, including the discrimination that sadly he continues to face as a gay man.

Oscar, 56 years old, was born in Spain in the small Grand Canary Island. He remembers a happy childhood — full of energy and a huge love for dance that later was part of artistic life as a drag queen. He also remembers the key events that marked his life to this day and the lessons he learned from them.

From a very young age, learning languages played a big role in his life as he describes that speaking different languages “gives him freedom”, a freedom that he felt was threatened when he contracted HIV nearly 20 years ago. For him, this was a life changing moment that dictated the steps he would take moving forward. It led to him raising awareness about the virus, especially within the gay community, and its relationship with drugs.

Though Oscar is open about his status today, he recalls a period where he had to hide his status due to the homophobia he would face in previous workplaces. Recently, with the outbreak of monkeypox, Oscar saw himself and his community, once again, being associated and discriminated against in relation to a virus.

“Monkeypox is not a gay disease!”, says Oscar after having contracted it and endured discriminatory remarks that the virus is now carrying. To him, a different sexual orientation is not the reason to get a disease or virus and campaigning to zero stigma can save us all from the nightmare people suffered, rooted in a deep lasting stigma that remains to this date with the outbreak of HIV/AIDS back in the 80s. These medical conditions spread together within a social context of fear, shame and prejudice.

Oscar shared that the use of drugs and engaging in unprotected sex with multiple partners is part of the reality of some young men in his hometown that are sadly unaware of the possible risks of such a lifestyle. Hence, for him, raising awareness and providing access to information about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections is fundamental if we want to eradicate the epidemic by 2030.

Specialists confirm that giving access to relevant and key foundational information about sexual health, reduces the risks of infection. It also reduces stigma, a factor that not only prevents those that that are HIV positive from being open about their status, but also to prevents them from seeking support and remaining on effective treatment after the positive diagnosis. There have been transformational changes in HIV treatment and prevention since the 80s and it should no longer be a death sentence.

Oscar, a travel, and language lover (he currently speaks 6 main languages!), shares that despite obstacles that he might be facing, he remains a man full of dreams with a desire to move forward. Going back to his home island in Grand Canary and settling there with a gastronomy and arts business is part of his forward vision. In the meantime, he´s happy with his advocacy work and his married life to (partner name), a painter and an art lover just like him. 

The Mi-Health Europe team would like to thank Oscar for his candor and willingness to share his experiences. Watch this space for updates on our Mi-Health HIV Partnership. Would your organization be interested in partnering with us? We would love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out at mihealth@africadvocacy.org.

Mi-Health Europe sur le thème "Le partenariat n'est que bénéfique !

16 août 2022

By: Lissilanne Silva (@lissilanne)

What do you think when you hear of the word “partnering”? Perhaps, you might think of it in a business setting or something more personal, more intimate such as getting into a relationship, but what about the partnering for good?

Every year, close to 2 million individuals cross into Europe, all seeking better life conditions ranging from political to socio-economic, wellbeing to health. For these people, access to (better) health can become quite challenging when the receiving country does not provide the best policies or environment for them. This is the reason why the collaborations between non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private sector funds and civil society are crucial to sooth some of the stress that migrant communities face in these precarious situations. This is also why we keep pushing for better health policies for all. And this is why we at Mi-Health Europe created the Mi-Health HIV Partnership.

Under the leadership of Africa Advocacy Foundation, we were awarded funding from Gilead’s Zeroing In- Ending the HIV Epidemic grant, as our primary work and program entails ending the HIV epidemic in vulnerable migrant communities across Europe:

• We are developing culturally appropriate HIV educational materials;
• We are conducting innovative HIV testing initiatives to address the gaps in the HIV cascade of care for vulnerable migrants;
• We are creating opportunities to share best practice and expertise among the frontline organizations in our partnership.

Although we at Mi-Health Europe are the lead organization, this program requires collaborative implementation, pushing, therefore, towards partnerships for good. Our implementing partners for Zeroing In are spread across Europe. We´re all together 10 migrant-led organizations that mutually agreed for the first time ever to work in a partnership to advance HIV knowledge, testing and treatment and to address other obstacles to healthcare access that disproportionately impact migrant communities in Europe.

Zeroing In was established by Gilead to empower communities highly affected by HIV and COVID-19 on their current and future wellness and health activities. It is also quite unique as it encapsulates innovative approaches using digital health innovations as well as continuous and close contact with the communities most impacted by HIV. The main areas of this program are Comprehensive HIV Innovation Programs, Digital Health Innovations and – where our Mi-Health HIV Partnership sits – Community Outreach and Education.

For us, the organizations helping to implement our Partenariat Mi-Health VIH are the backbone for this challenging but doable mission of ending the HIV epidemic amongst migrant communities in Europe. Improving migrant health is only possible if forces are joined for more partnerships with similar goals. We formed this partnership because we realized that individually, each of our organizations can only achieve so much, but together we can advance community-driven solutions to address the worsening precarity of migrants across the region and to improve migrant health outcomes. We are looking forward to continuing to advance our partnerships for good as we grow

So, this is a bit of the latest on our partnership for good and we are very happy to be doing this work with Plateforme Prevention SIDA (Belgium), Mouvement de solidarité avec le sida (Cyprus), Association PASTT (France), Afrikaherz (Germany), Open Paths Athènes (Greece), Associazione LHIVE (Italy), Stichting AFAA Netherlands (Netherlands), Noaks Ark Mosaik (Sweden) & FPCCSIDA (Portugal).

Watch this space for updates on our work and Partnership. In the meantime, what for the good have you done lately? Would your organization be interested in partnering with us? We would love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out at mihealth@africadvocacy.org or anne@africadvovacy.org.

More on Gilead’s Zeroing In: Ending the HIV Epidemic grant program, please check ici..