Nearly 200 new AIDS cases are being reported every month in Colombia, as the syndrome continues to expand in the face of ineffective government policies and campaigns.
“The rate of AIDS in Colombia continues to increase. Promotion and prevention activities have not had the desired effect in arresting the growth curve of the syndrome in the country. Day by day more cases of HIV are reported,” Ricardo Leal, member of the Colombian Association of Infectious Diseases, told Caracol Radio.
Many patients only realize they are infected with HIV when they come to the hospital overwhelmed by the symptoms of tuberculosis, pneumonia or other diseases.
Nearly ten percent of HIV patients are new cases, according to the National University, which blames poverty, lack of health authority attention and the lack of a preventative culture among youth.