Cuba to Celebrate Global HIV/AIDS Response

HAVANA TIMES — On December 1, Cuba will celebrate Global HIV/AIDS Response, said specialists from the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) to the Prensa Latina news agency.

The Caribbean island will join the UNAIDS initiative through community discussions, presentations of books and plays, video debates and a cultural show – among other actions taking place in the country to highlight the problem.

Maria Isela Lantero, the head of the Department of Prevention and Control of STDs/AIDS, of the Public Health Ministry, said that fewer infections have occurred so far this year on the island than those reported in 2010.

Since the epidemic began in Cuba, in 1986, there have been more than 17,000 cases to date, with 80 percent of these patients still living, said Lantero. She also noted that among the achievements has been the elimination of the health problem of mother-to-child HIV transmission.