A shortage of HIV medication is indicative of a government which treats patients like second class citizens, Malta’s Gay Rights Movement has warned.

Lovin Malta earlier revealed how HIV patients in Malta have been left without critical medicine as the country’s supply of HIV medicine abruptly dried up.

Patients on treatment, which requires them to take the cocktail of pills every day without fail to be effective, said they felt lost after being turned away from hospital and pharmacies across the island because they didn’t have the drugs.

In a statement, the MGRM said:

“This is nothing short of a public health crisis. Not taking the medication regularly allows the HIV virus inside a person’s body to gain resistance, making entire ranges of antiretrovirals ineffective against it. It also allows HIV to start attacking a person’s immune system, increasing their susceptibility to various other illnesses including COVID-19, and making the virus transmittable. “

“We are appalled that the situation has been allowed to spin out of control notwithstanding regular appeals by activists. All this is happening against a background where new medication is being left to decay in boxes whilst longwinded bureaucratic processes take their time to be completed.

“This transition to new medication might be one of the reasons behind the current shortage, however, a well-planned transition should have included a phasing-out plan that guaranteed that nobody was left without their lifesaving medication at any one point.

“Had this been a shortage of chemotherapy or diabetes medication it would be nothing short of a national scandal. Yet health authorities insist on doubling down on an attitude where HIV patients are treating like second class citizens. We appeal for a quick resolution.”

HIV activists in Malta have previously warned of the looming crisis involving HIV and sexual health.

Currently, treatment for HIV in Malta is an outdated cocktail of drugs. And while the Health Ministry has pledged to introduce the latest medicine on the market for HIV-positive people, the new drugs are yet to hit the market.

Treatment costs anywhere between €40 a day, which is currently covered by the state. However, protecting yourself is not and can be costly. PrEp, for example, costs €57 a month and must be taken daily. Contraceptive pills cost around €20 a month. These are currently unavailable to those who can’t afford them because there is no state-sponsored scheme for such medicines.

Meanwhile, HIV activists warn the national sexual health clinic is a “ticking time bomb”.

Fewer than 2% of people in Malta got tested last year at the GU clinic. This is highly concerning considering STDs are on the rise with five people a month diagnosed with HIV.

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