Colombia

Key Results in 2022-2023

Communities are empowered to meaningfully participate in the HIV response, deliver services and advocate for the rights of people living with HIV and key populations
Access to comprehensive sexuality education improved with nearly 1400 young people reached by HIV and sexual and reproductive health information in schools.
A newly launched repository of strategic information on combination HIV prevention gained more than 4000 new users in the last quarter of 2023.
HIV services were scaled up among people from refugee, migrant and host populations, including HIV prevention, testing and gender-based violence prevention and care services.

Joint Programme Results

In 2022-2023, Colombia expanded combination HIV prevention and testing services, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for key populations with substantial support from the Joint Programme. The latest national combination prevention strategy and implementation of the QuanPrEP tool—which helps to estimate the needs and corresponding cost of PrEP—enabled over 1600 people with high risk of HIV infection to access PrEP services in 2022 and over 6600 in 2023. More than 1900 healthcare workers increased their capacity in the prevention and management of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, HIV and tuberculosis co-infections, and hepatitis B and C in primary healthcare services (WHO). Besides, a newly launched repository of strategic information online repository scaled up access to combination HIV prevention guidelines, policies and other educational materials, gaining more than 4000 new users and 26 000 interactions in the last quarter of 2023 (UNDP). More than 940 people also gained knowledge on combination HIV prevention through an online course hosted by the Joint Programme (UNFPA). To further reinforce prevention efforts, over 2 million male condoms were procured and distributed to community spaces via 27 territorial governments (UNHCR).

As part of the Soy Clave project, representatives of civil society, key populations and communities were empowered to advocate for their rights, mobilize resources and actively participate in the HIV response through social contracting (WHO, UNAIDS Secretariat). Best practices and success stories from six effective community-led combination prevention initiatives were documented to support advocacy for their sustainability and integration into the national health system (UNFPA).

HIV incidence per 1000 uninfected populations

Source: AIDSinfo

AIDS mortality per 1000 population

Source: AIDSinfo

Progress towards 95-95-95 targets

Source: AIDSinfo

Comprehensive sexuality education programmes reached 1389 young people in schools improving their knowledge and skills on the prevention of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and early or unplanned pregnancies; and 71 facilitators built their capacity to deliver out-of-school comprehensive sexuality education (UNFPA).

Prevention of vertical transmission of HIV services were scaled up among rural and indigenous communities through the implementation of a new service delivery model, the capacity building of healthcare providers and the revision of service monitoring tools, thanks to the technical and financial support from the Joint Programme (WHO). In addition, vulnerable mothers from refugee, migrant and host communities received breastmilk substitutes benefiting 381 infants, including babies under six-month old born to mothers living with HIV (UNHCR).

In humanitarian settings, over 5200 refugees, migrants and people from host communities accessed HIV testing services in collaboration with the civil society organization Profamilia in 20 departments or in community spaces spread across Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Cucuta, Medellin and Pereira cities. Migrants who survived sexual violence benefited from condoms and post-exposure prophylaxis kits distributions. Comprehensive educational initiatives also engaged 1800 women from refugees, migrants and host communities covering crucial topics such as HIV prevention, including negotiation skills for condom use and the prevention of gender-based violence. Furthermore, 114 refugees, migrants and people from host communities in Cúcuta, Medellín and Pereira cities received training on entrepreneurship, employability and financial inclusion as well as seed funding to establish small enterprises or improve their chances of employment (UNHCR). In Barranquilla, 30 people living with HIV also received similar training and assistance, of whom 21 people found employment and four people started their own business (WFP).