USIS Washington File - June 28, 2007
David Shelby, USINFO Staff Writer

In an effort to reverse this trend, El Salvador's president, El as Antonio Saca, followed the lead of the United States in declaring June 27 National HIV Testing Day. PASMO, a regional nongovernmental organization, managed the publicity campaign for the event with a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

PASMO's El Salvador director, Gerardo Lara, praised the Salvadoran government's proactive attitude regarding HIV/AIDS. He welcomed the minister of health at a San Salvador clinic for an HIV test on testing day, and he noted that President Saca personally recorded a radio message as part of PASMO's national publicity campaign.

Testing was held at hospitals and clinics around the country. Health workers from the Ministry of Health provided pre-test counseling to each patient on the nature and transmission of HIV. The workers plan to follow up with post-test discussions on prevention and, if necessary, counseling on therapy when participants receive their test results over the coming week. Officials expected to administer 40,000 tests in one day.

In addition to managing publicity for this event, PASMO operates targeted educational campaigns for high-risk communities. Lara told USINFO that there is still a lack of understanding of the risk of HIV/AIDS in these communities. He said, for instance, that many sex workers are young, poor and uneducated. Often men will offer them more money to have sex without a condom, and they comply without understanding the danger. "We educate them on negotiating the use of a condom," he said. "We have to explain to them that their life is worth more than a few extra dollars."

He said that many of PASMO's educators are members of the high-risk communities they are addressing. He said these individuals are in the best position to talk to their peers about the risks they face.

PASMO also addresses the needs of HIV-positive individuals through a sister organization -- Asociaci<=n Atlacatl. The association's slogan is "I live positive." Atlacatl's president, Odir Miranda, explained that his organization provides counseling on lifestyle and therapy to people living with the virus and works to combat discrimination against HIV-positive individuals.

Atlacatl also cooperates in prevention campaigns to help check the spread of the virus. Miranda said his organization's role in the National Testing Day campaign was to help mitigate people's fears of being tested by demonstrating that it is possible to live a healthy, active life even with the virus.

USAID's David Losk said the United States was happy to support the publicity campaign surrounding National HIV Testing Day. "The more people know about HIV and how it's transmitted, the better," he said.

Lara said that even though the problem of HIV is growing in El Salvador, the country is on the right path to improve the situation.

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