Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1541680
MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt 3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 NOVEMBER 2025 NEWS 76% of domestic violence reports filed by women CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 Earlier this month information published by the National Statis- tics Office showed 3,798 persons reported experiencing domestic violence or made use of services available for victims. Of these re- ports, 76% were filed by women. The majority of people, 57.5%, used a service only once during 2024, while 21.4% used one or more services twice and 21.1% used them three times or more. Among female victims, 44.9% used a service more than once, compared with 35% of males. In 2024, 29.3% of the total cases registered across all services in- volved persons aged between 30 and 39 years old, while 24.7% in- volved persons aged 50 years old and over. The majority, 83.4%, were cases involving Maltese nationals. Malta is currently commem- orating the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. The campaign started on 25 No- vember, the International Day for the Elimination of Gender-based Violence and runs until 10 De- cember, Human Rights Day. NGOs rally for World AIDS Day, criticise government inaction ACTIVISTS will call for univer- sal access to HIV prevention and treatment in Malta at a World AIDS Day rally outside parliament today. Focussed on breaking the silence around HIV, activists hope to confront the stigma and political inaction that continue to shape the lives of people living with the virus. The rally is organised by Check- point Malta together with Movi- ment Graffitti, MGRM, LGBTI+ Gozo, ARC, Aditus Foundation and Drachma LGBTIQ. They want government to deliver on long-standing commitments to make HIV preventive medicines, PrEP and PEP, free and to broad- en eligibility for antiretroviral therapy. The coalition said there has a been a 65% rise in new HIV cases in Malta, with 754 persons known to be living with HIV in 2024. There were 53 newly-diagnosed cases of HIV last year. "We are here to send a message that universal healthcare must include everyone at risk of HIV," Moviment Graffitti representative Angele Deguara told MaltaToday. "Until this happens, people are left behind." Deguara said that despite the rising number of HIV cases, treat- ment is only provided free to Mal- tese citizens and foreign nationals with work permits. "This excludes students, non-working residents, new arrivals and many other vul- nerable groups who cannot afford life-saving medication," she said. Even EU citizens who are on ex- change or visiting for study are not automatically covered unless in work. She highlighted the financial burden of treatment: "Antiretro- viral therapy costs around €1,000 a month. Prevention would re- duce this long-term burden. Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) costs about €57 per month, and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) around €600. Both are out of reach for people who need them." Deguara said the government pledged last year to make these medications free, yet the budget this year made no reference to that promise. The government has repeatedly promised to add PEP and PrEP to the National Formulary list. The pledge was included in the Labour Party's election manifesto and re- stated in the Sexual Health Strate- gy announced in December 2024. When contacted by this paper in July this year, the Health Ministry had responded that the tender for the medication was being renego- tiated since the previous one was due to expire. Deguara said the theme of si- lence is central to understand- ing the impact of HIV in Malta. "There is a deep social silence sur- rounding HIV," she said. "Many people still believe HIV is limited to gay men or can be contracted through casual contact and these misconceptions contribute to shame and fear." She said many people living with HIV hide their health condition even from family and friends. They carry the burden alone, she said. Deguara also pointed to advanc- es in treatment. "Since 2021, mod- ern medication suppresses HIV to undetectable levels. People with an undetectable viral load cannot transmit the virus yet awareness remains low, even within LGBTQ communities. Silence now takes the form of political inaction and the absence of public campaigns." Checkpoint Malta director Jack- ie Roberts said frustration with the government has grown over the past year. "The government launched a sexual health policy last December… We submitted a 42-page response in February. We have received no reply and no working groups were formed," she said. Roberts added: "We have been asking for months for basic data, such as how many people current- ly use PrEP and how many would use it if it were free. Officials say they do not have these figures, even though they have research teams. Effective policy cannot be made without evidence. We need to know the scale of the need be- fore implementing any changes." She criticised the lack of trans- parency and political will. "The government increased funding in the budget for sexual health, but we do not know how it will be al- located or if it will cover PrEP and PEP," she said. For Roberts this is not a bureaucratic delay. "It feels political; the population of Malta and Gozo is the size of a medi- um-sized city and there is no rea- son why we cannot get universal access." LAURA CALLEJA lcalleja@mediatoday.com.mt Activists gathered outside of Castille in July to celebrate HIV Zero Stigma Day reiterating their appeal for preventive and emergency HIV treatments to be added to the national formulary list 90 patients awaiting kidney transplants 95 people are awaiting kidney transplants, while another five are on the waiting list to receive other organs—heart, lungs and liver— figures ta- bled in parliament show. Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela gave the breakdown in response to a parliamentary question raised by National- ist MP Chris Said. One person is waiting for a heart transplant, another is waiting for a new liver, three people need a lung trans- plant, while 95 individuals are awaiting kidney transplants. Abela's answer shows the seemingly constant demand for kidney transplants. In 2022, former Health Minis- ter Chris Fearne stated that there were 90 people waiting for kidney transplants at the time. Fearne had also explained that between 2018 and 2022, there were 67 organ trans- plants, and apart from those awaiting a new kidney, there were 20 patients who need- ed a new cornea. In his re- sponse, Jo Etienne Abela reit- erated that the government is looking towards a new organ donation system, specifically, a model called donation after circulatory death (DCD). Earlier this month, Cabinet had approved the new frame- work which is set to be sub- ject to a public consultation at the beginning of Decem- ber. Abela anticipated that the DCD system could boost the number of transplants by 50%. Currently, organ dona- tions occur after donors are declared brain dead. Under a DCD system, organ dona- tions can go ahead after one's heart stops beating. The key difference between DCD and donations after brain death is that the former can be done if the patient has no hope of recovery and their life is being prolonged with treatment. In parliament, Ab- ela also noted that the intro- duction of DCD had received support from the church.