Spanish Red Cross activities on HIV, TB during 2020 report

In 2020, Spanish RC continued operating with all care programs:

HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases:

20.337 people sensitized and attended in person for their health promotion and the risk reduction against HIV and other sexual diseases.
274.600 people served through social networks and online platforms.
498.162 attentions made through our online channel of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.

TBC:

Care for 1.022 people diagnosed with TBC.
Raising awareness of 72.000 people about TB.

PWUD:

Spanish RC assisted 22.167 people who use drugs.
Raising awareness of 85.000 people about the use and the abuse of drugs.

Since the arrival of COVID-19 in Spain, SRC users have been affected by a new reality that is beyond the limits of their access to facilities and services that affect proper socio-health care for their needs and rights.

This new health emergency involves considering a set of realities. From the social services, SRC users are excluded or are not considered due to the reality of consumers of illegal substances, homeless or sick people. This fact makes them unable to comply with a work plan imposed as a condition to arrive to accomplish the demands imposed by the social services.

At this stage, SRC clients have expressed a greater concern, doubts regarding situations with the police, their medical treatment, questions related to confinement centres that were already planned to be opened for people living in the street. Difficulties with the availability of some substances or the rise in prices in the limited supply or the difficulty to find a place to sleep. They expressed to us the strange feeling of being in an almost empty city without the set of situations that normally on a day-to-day basis allow them to manage their personal, social and substance-use needs.

1. CHANGES / ADAPTATION TO PANDEMIC IN HR SERVICES:

• Measures aiming to avoid infections: Covid’s protocols;
• Try to limit contact and closeness in spaces;
• Individual Covid prevention workshops
• Extend the coverage:
  • prepared food packs free face masks free individual thermometer rapid inclusion in methadone programs individual DCR access shower with disinfestation before and after use laundry service with high temperatures
  • Virtual monitoring;
  • Telephone follow-up;
  • The HIV / STI / TB Prevention Info: to continue promoting the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of both HIV and other STIs, making special mention of HCV, in addition to expanding the focus to TB.
  • Adaptation in the delivery of medication;
  • Continuity in rapid tests.
  • Needle exchange of material for consumption and all the paraphernalia.
  • Delivery Naloxone kits to avoid overdose.

1. LOCKDOWN SPACES:

• for people living in the street;
• guarantee of treatment or continuity and provision of nursering support;
• new hostel’s stop of the methadone dispensing bus;
• emergency care assistance and medication treatment;
• link with drug treatment centres;
• Overdose prevention workshops.

Present and future goals of Spanish Red Cross are:

1. Minimize the risk of infection in our clients and in the general population;
2. Consider due to the reality of PWUD, people living in the street and prisoners.
3. To give view and voice to this collective in this pandemic.