Portal launched www.pozytywnezycie.eu - HIV and AIDS advisor available online for everyone who needs it. It contains the most important information about the virus in three languages, i.e. Polish, Ukrainian and English, as well as phone numbers, e-mails and website addresses of the most active non-governmental organisations supporting people living with HIV in Poland. The website was created as part of the project Academy for Positive Living implemented by the Foundation for Social Education with funding from the Positively Open competition.
The need for the knowledge provided by the new portal is evidenced, among other things, by the growing number of HIV infections in Poland. According to data from the National Institute of Public Health - National Research Institute, in the first half of 2022, the number of newly diagnosed HIV cases was as high as 880! For comparison: in the first half of 2021, 401 were recorded.
The answer to this problem is to be found, among other things, in the website www.pozytywnezycie.eu - an educational platform where you can find answers to questions on:
- medical aspects of living with the virus,
- socio-psychological issues related to HIV,
- Practical messages, e.g. HIV versus other infections,
- the latest reports on care and support as well as treatment for HIV+ people,
- non-governmental organisations supporting seropositive people and the assistance they offer (the database is constantly being expanded).
"Information about HIV infection usually evokes many emotions. There is fear, disbelief, denial, but also fear for loved ones. Questions arise that often have no one to ask. Some people are even afraid to talk to doctors for fear of being stigmatised. Our website is a safe space for people who may feel lost in a situation that is new to them. We answer their questions," said Dr. n. social. Magdalena Ankiersztejn-Bartczak, President of the Social Education Foundation.
"In the case of a confirmed positive result, clients of the Consultation and Diagnosis Points, of which there are 29 in Poland, are given all the necessary information on living with HIV and treatment by counsellors. However, not every positive result is given in such conditions. The new portal is intended to replace the counsellor for people who do not have the opportunity to do the test at the VCT or would like to deepen their knowledge," added Agnieszka Świderska, HIV/AIDS counsellor and co-founder of the Positive Life Academy website.
"Our lives have largely moved to the internet, so it is all the more welcome to see the creation of a portal containing reliable and practical information on HIV in three languages, including Ukrainian. I am convinced that the Social Education Foundation website will become a place where many people in need will find help," concluded Pawel Mierzejewski of Gilead Sciences, coordinator of the Positively Open programme.
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Positively Open Competition
The aim of the Positively Open programme is to promote HIV prevention and knowledge about the possibilities of a normal life with the virus. Within the programme there is a competition for institutions which would like to run or already run programmes in the area of education and activation, as well as HIV/AIDS prevention and diagnostics. The partners of the Programme are the Mayor of the Capital City of Warsaw, the National AIDS Centre, the National Institute of Public Health PZH - National Research Institute, "Służba Zdrowia", Termedia publishing house and the company Gilead Sciences, which in the last eleven years has allocated more than 2 million zlotys for grants allowing the implementation of competition projects.
For further information, please contact:
Mariola Sarnowska
Positively Open Organisation Office
Tel: +48 502 213 047