LGBT Discrimination Fuels HIV Rate in Guatemala

Discrimination against LGBT people in Guatemala’s health care system keeps them from getting adequate HIV treatment, IPS reports.

Advocates claim that sexual minorities in Guatemala suffer systemic discrimination and that health care workers routinely divulge the results of HIV tests and stigmatize HIV-positive patients and colleagues. The advocates recommend that health workers receive mandatory HIV/AIDS education to dispel misinformation about how the virus is transmitted.

In 2010, 7.6 percent of men who have sex with men in Guatemala were HIV positive. An estimated 65,000 people out of the country’s 14 million are living with HIV.

To read the IPS article, visit: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=106207.

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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