The cutbacks that took place in 2010 in Spain due to the economic downturn have alarmingly impacted the health development policies that the government had been implementing. Support for research and development initiatives for new biomedical products to combat HIV/AIDS and malaria were weakened the most. The financial contribution that Spain had been making to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative was reduced by 77%, while its contribution to the International Association for Microbicides was reduced by 80% , and allocations to the Medicines for Malaria Venture were cut back by 33%.
The full scope of the impact of these cutbacks remains unknown, and the number of initiatives affected may be even greater.
We at Salud por Derecho deplore these cutbacks at a time when there has been significant scientific progress that has brought us closer to obtain an AIDS vaccine and microbicides in the relatively near future, because achieving new biomedical products depends, among other factors, on stable financial and political support over the long term from different actors, mainly governments.
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If you’re really wirroed about it, don’t go to your doctor. There are always places where you can get tested and have the results kept confidential. Look in your city phone book, yellow pages. If you don’t see anything, then look for your local LGBT equality center and they can tell you where one is, or call the AIDS Hotline, they can give you the location of your nearest testing site. With most of these places, the testing is free, however, if you want the results back right away, there is usually a charge, and you can get the results usually within 24 hours. If you opt to not pay, it takes a couple of weeks to get your test results back. In most of the places, you don’t even have to give your name, they give you a number, and match your number to your test results.