Advocates from several nongovernmental organizations are calling on the Mexican government to declare a “national HIV/AIDS emergency” that will allow the country to import generic antiretroviral drugs for people with HIV, according to the Apria Healthcare company’s news site (apria.com, 6/17).
The organizations have formed a coalition to seek universal access to antiretroviral medications in Mexico. According to the coalition, AIDS treatment costs up to 30 times more in Mexico than in other countries with similar per capita incomes. They say that the allowance of cheaper, generic drugs would help to save the lives of nearly 180,000 Mexicans.
According to the article, there are 8,000 to 8,500 new cases of HIV reported each year in Mexico.
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Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
