A total of 5,282 people have been checked for HIV in the last ten years at the Cyprus Checkpoint operated by the Support Movement for AIDS, it said on Wednesday.
In the same time period – 2015 to August 2024 – 3,971 people were tested for syphilis.
On the eve of World Aids Day on December 1, the association said it has put 57 people with HIV in contact with the services offered by the state.
In the same period, it also handed out 50,000 condoms.
The Cyprus Checkpoint is a one stop service to halt the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and fully supports the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets.
“The three aims of UNAIDS result in one goal, the reduction of new HIV infections. Without reaching the first goal, at least 95 per cent of people living with HIV to know that, we cannot talk about success with the second and third goals, for these people to gain access to antiretroviral treatment, to have an undetectable viral load and become non-communicable,” the organisation said.
It added that preventive screening programmes designed by the community itself are the most essential way to meet the first UNAIDS goal.
“Without Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis being made available in Cyprus to all people who need it, we will not be able to achieve the goals of UNAIDS as a state,” it added.
By combining all prevention tools available in Cyprus along with education programmes, Cyprus Checkpoint said it has has shown that these low-cost programmes effectively build a healthier future.
