2018 HIV Drug Therapy Inequality

A report on Julia Del Amo’s presentation “HIV and Migration: a renewed challenge”

Julia del Amo challenged our assumptions about HIV and migrants, with particular focus on Europe. Some migrants arrive to their destination country already living with HIV, either acquiring it in their port of origin or during their journey. However, the number of men who acquire HIV after they migrate is startling. 

There are steadily increasing numbers of MSM who are diagnosed within the first year of living in their destination country (up 58% since 2007), while people who are heterosexual and newly diagnosed is declining (down 36% from 2007).  Moreover, in migrants from sub-Saharan Africa who are found to have HIV a year after arrival, approximately 72% of MSM and 50% of heterosexual migrants acquired HIV post-migration. This is determined using a validated method of estimating acquisition. 

A report on Julia Del Amo's presentation "HIV & Migration: a Renewed Challenge"

Since 2015, Europe has been in the grip of a “Migrant Crisis”¹ , shifting the population landscape in some countries and a change in the political climate.

As Julia Del Amo from the National Center for Epidemiology, Institute of Health Carlos III, Madrid explained in her session “HIV & Migration: a Renewed Challenge”, the UN definition of a migrant is incredibly broad² and this is reflected in the challenges that are faced domestically, politically and economically when considering these groups. She delivered an enlightening presentation on Wednesday morning at the Glasgow 2018 conference outlining patterns of HIV such as country of origin for newly acquired HIV cases & HIV positive migrants in Europe; acquisition method and trends in HIV positive migrants from specific regional ‘hotspots’. 

Of course, the situations in Europe and Australia greatly differ. With strict border controls and compulsory HIV testing when applying for permanent visas, it could be argued that this data does not apply to us – and certainly Australia has some of the lowest rates of HIV positive migration in the world. But there would be few Clinicians among us who do not have patients who have migrated either legally or illegally to this country and there were many elements of this presentation that could be translated into greater awareness and care for this cohort.