In Greek Crisis, HIV Gains Ground

Greece’s social safety net is fraying amid its debt crisis, and observers say health care is particularly affected. Heroin use and prostitution are up, and clean needles, methadone, and antiretroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS are harder to access, say patients and experts.

Greece had 255 new HIV cases in the first five months of 2010, but 384 cases during the same span this year. The Hellenic Center for Disease Control and Prevention is forecasting a 60 percent increase for 2011.

Six months ago, all four Hellenic Center mobile HIV testing vans in Athens would average about two clients nightly, said Dr. Evaggelos Liapis, who conducts testing 6-10 p.m. at Omonoia Square. That figure has risen to 40 tests a night. “There are no clean syringes around here and we have an increase in poverty and prostitution,” Liapis said.

In hard times, heroin users switch to injecting because it produces a stronger high than smoking or snorting the drug, according to an International Journal of Drug Policy report. While the World Health Organization says users need 200 syringes each per year, Greece distributes just three per user per year, the center estimates.

Although some drug companies are being forced to accept Greek bonds instead of cash, there are no signs yet that this and government-imposed treatment price cuts have disrupted supplies of HIV drugs. However, one Athens addict interviewed said doctors set detox as a precondition for receiving HIV treatment, “even though I am Greek and have social security.”

In September, the health ministry ordered seven mobile methadone treatment clinics in poor areas to move to 32 state hospitals in Athens. Some health professionals said it would improve staff and treatment distribution. But budget cuts are making it harder to reach users, say workers with the Greek Organization Against Drugs, which provides the bulk of drug replacement and reintegration programs.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

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