Campaign pays R$50 to sex workers who take an HIV test – Capital

2023-05-27 16:29:00

Action is developed by the project A Hora é Agora in partnership with Sesau (Municipal Health Department)

Person performing HIV testing in the Capital (Photo: Divulgation/Sesau)

Initiative of the project A Hora é Agora in partnership with Sesau (Municipal Health Department) is offering an allowance of BRL 50 for sex workers who carry out the face-to-face HIV and STI test at the testing centers in Campo Grande. The campaign is valid until June 25th.

The cost help action is aimed at sex workers with new diagnoses or who have been previously diagnosed, but never started treatment. When taking the test, in addition to financial aid, participants have access to special campaigns, can receive medications such as PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) or PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis), indicated in the treatment, and even referred to other services. The project aims to meet all types of situations and ensure a safe and welcoming environment for everyone.

Those who are sex workers but do not meet the aforementioned criteria can still participate in the campaign as recruiters. Just go to a service unit and purchase individual vouchers. If four people take the test using the code provided, the recruiter will receive a card worth R$50.

The campaign will be in effect until June 25, 2023 and is an important initiative to encourage testing and ensure health care for sex workers in the city of Campo Grande.

The CTA (Testing and Counseling Center) in Campo Grande is located at Rua Anhanduí, 353 – Amambaí. Opening hours are from Monday to Friday, from 7 am to 5 pm. More information about the project can be obtained by calling: 67) 98189-8300 / (67) 99227-1228.

Initiative – The “A Hora é Agora” (AHA) project was launched in December 2014, in the city of Curitiba (Paraná), with the aim of responding to a need to expand access to testing and treatment for key populations of men who have sex with men (MSM) in which the HIV epidemic was growing.

The project is part of a Cooperation Agreement between the Sérgio Arouca National School of Public Health (Ensp) of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), the Foundation for Scientific and Technological Development in Health (Fiotec) and the Centers for Control and Prevention of Diseases of the United States of America (CDC), with funds from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

In September 2019, the project was expanded to Campo Grande, focusing on the distribution of the self-test, through Post Offices and digital cabinets, and also as support for the Testing and Counseling Center of Campo Grande (CTA).