In Belgium, the human papillomavirus or HPV, puts gay and bisexual men and people living with HIV disproportionately at risk compared to heterosexual men. Despite this, the cost of HPV vaccination remains prohibitive.  

In Belgium, vaccination against HPV costs 430 €. Other countries like Ireland, other regions like England, Scotland or Northern Ireland, offer it for free to gay and bisexual men and to transgender women up to 45 years old. Some regions in northern Italy also offer it for free to people living with HIV and to gay and bisexual people without age restrictions.

Belgium can do better !

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In Belgium, a man cannot donate blood if he had sex with another man in the past 12 months.

Belgium is not up to date with current trends. Other countries tend to reduce periods of abstinence for groups considered " at risk ". In its report,  UNIA quotes the Belgian Superior Health Council which, already in 2017, recommended that the Belgian government reduce the period of abstinence to 6 months.  In the meantime, France has reduced it to 4 months in February 2020 and the United Kingdom to 3 months. Another trend is that countries are reviewing pre-blood donation questionnaires by no longer mentioning sexual orientation but focusing only on risky behaviors. This is the case of Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom and most recently Portugal, on March 19, 2021.  Israel has set up an innovative system: blood donated by  homosexual and bisexual men is frozen and this first donation is only accepted on the basis of a negative test 4 months later. Belgium can do better !

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In Belgium, not revealing that you are HIV positive before having unprotected sex implies a risk of spending from 3 months to 5 years in prison.  

We want Belgium to express strongly, just as Canada did in 2017, that a person living with HIV, under treatment and whose viral load is undetectable, does not transmit HIV. We want the government to state that a person living with HIV will only be investigated if there has been an intentional transmission of the virus. HIV is not a criminal matter. It is a public health matter. Today, people living with HIV need a strong message from Belgium.