Statements and Webcast
Peru
H.E. Dr. Zarela Solis, Deputy Minister of Health
9 June 2011
- Statement: Spanish (Check against delivery)
Statement Summary
ZARELA SOLÍS, Deputy Minister for Health of Peru, said the HIV/AIDS situation in her country remained at epidemic level, with sexual transmission constituting about 97 per cent of all infections. The prevalence among men who have sex with men was 13 per cent, she said, adding that it stood at 30 per cent among the transgender population. Many of those infected were quite young, which indicated that most cases were acquired in the teen years or in young adulthood, she said, noting that the prevalence rate among pregnant women was 0.23 per cent.
In the past six years however, there had been a decline in both the number of HIV cases and in AIDS-related mortality, she said. Peru had developed norms and polices aimed at preventing vertical transmission, and there had been tangible improvements in the number of screening tests for pregnant women, which was currently over 80 per cent. Peru needed to redouble its efforts to improve the interaction between the Health Ministry and other sectors, she said, adding that so far, that coordination, along with an increase in resources, had contributed to improving the efficacy of interventions to prevent infection and treat the population.
Source: GA/11090