Venezuela Gets LOVE Condoms!

In Colombia, Global Advocacy, Global Featured by Fiona Ip

AHF Panamá and its partners recently succeeded in getting the first donation of 500,000 AHF-branded LOVE Condoms and 25,000 rapid HIV tests delivered to Venezuela, where the ongoing crisis has left most people without access to essential health commodities.

AHF donated the condoms in coordination with the Pan American Health Organization to help alleviate the health emergency in the country. The United Nations Human Response Depot in Panamá, the Panamá Ministry of Health and AID FOR AIDS assisted with the initial delivery in February. A similar donation of condoms is expected to arrive in the country in the coming months.

Several in-country non-governmental organizations have also partnered with AHF and are working to get the supplies to those who need them throughout multiple provinces, including the Amazon, Capital District and several others.

“We’re very thankful to our partners for helping to accomplish this vital effort,” said Dr. Patricia Campos, AHF’s Bureau Chief for Latin America and the Caribbean. “The Venezuela Network of Positive People and the Society of Infectologists were both instrumental for condom distribution and conducting rapid HIV tests throughout the country after the supplies arrived.”

“Whether it’s providing HIV care and treatment to as many clients as possible at our Cúcuta clinic near the Colombia-Venezuela border, or working with partners to continue donating and delivering health supplies to the country—AHF will strive to support the people of Venezuela in any way we can,” added Dr. Campos.

The crisis in Venezuela prompted AHF to open its clinic in Cúcuta, Colombia in September 2018. By January 2020, the clinic had tested more than 7,200 people for HIV—with over half supporting Venezuelans. It currently provides antiretroviral medicines directly to nearly 900 clients.

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