print this page

Sexual health success in Brazil

International Service has helped the Brazilian government and healthcare professionals to reduce new cases of AIDS in the State of Amazonas by 51%

Amazonas State - an area three times the size of France - has the 5th highest rate of HIV/AIDS in Brazil, and it’s a challenging part of the country in which to work.

29% of people live in poverty, 20% are functionally illiterate despite receiving an education, and one quarter of all live births are to mothers aged between 15 and 19.

The rate of HIV has been climbing at an alarming rate - particularly amongst groups of people such as pregnant women, young people, disabled people, rural communities, and gay and transgendered people.

The Amazonas State government, and the local governments of six municipalities in the State, wanted to reverse this worrying trend.

In 2006, International Service accepted the challenge to support the government in educating people about sexual health, improving their access to healthcare, and strengthening the effectiveness of national sexual healthcare programmes and resources.

Our 2010 evaluation of the project revealed that this project has had phenomenal success in reducing the number of cases of HIV, AIDS and other sexually-transmitted infections.

The incidence of AIDS in people over the age of 13 was
reduced by 51%
The incidence of HIV in pregnant women fell by 13%, and more pregnant women were being tested for HIV and syphilis
Parintins Municipality saw a 30% increase in the number of people requesting HIV testing, and the HIV prevalence in the population fell from 1.78% to 1.06%
Over 1500 health professionals and health workers received training
50,000 young people increased their knowledge of how to prevent STI/AIDS, and gained access to condoms and testing services
Over 141,500 men and women increased their knowledge of how to prevent STI/AIDS, and gained access to condoms and testing services