The High Prevalence of HIV Among Venezuelan Migrants in Colombia
Ricardo Moreno, a Venezuelan migrant living in Colombia, has revealed the tragic story of how he contracted HIV. Moreno, who was abandoned on the streets of San Cristóbal, Venezuela, at the age of 13, was taken in by a 56-year-old man who provided him with food, shelter, and stability. Moreno saw him as a father figure, but little did he know that the man would eventually transmit the virus to him.
Now, 19 years later, Moreno is sharing his story from a foster home in Bogotá, Colombia, where he arrived with his boyfriend, Orlando Campero, who also has HIV. They are part of an estimated 20,000 HIV-positive Venezuelan migrants living in Colombia, making up about 0.9% of the nearly 3 million Venezuelans in the country. This incidence is almost double the rate among the Colombian population, which is 0.5%.
To address the high prevalence of HIV among Venezuelan migrants in Colombia, the government has made a historic decision. On October 2, the government declared the patent for the antiviral drug dolutegravir, a first-line treatment for HIV and AIDS, as a matter of public interest. This decision paves the way for the government to remove exclusive rights from the company that holds the patent, British-based ViiV Healthcare, and grant a compulsory license. This would allow the state to offer a generic version of the drug at a more affordable price.
If negotiations with ViiV fail, the government could issue its first compulsory license in the country. According to epidemiologist and AIDS specialist Edier Palacín, this move “would completely change the situation of the disease in Colombia.”
Moreno and Campero, like many other HIV-positive Venezuelan migrants, face difficulties in accessing treatment. They left Venezuela in 2019 due to the lack of medicine. After four years in Lima, Peru, they migrated again, this time to Colombia. Arriving in Colombia, their first priority was to find treatment. They found the Eudes Foundation, an NGO that provides medical support, food, and lodging to HIV-positive patients. The majority of people seeking help from the foundation are Venezuelan migrants.
While Moreno and Campero consider themselves fortunate, not all migrants have the same luck. Natalia Rodríguez, a trans woman from Caracas, also arrived in Bogotá seeking treatment after five years without access to medicine in Venezuela. She started selling coffee on the streets but soon fell ill due to lack of treatment and the harsh weather conditions in Bogotá. Rodríguez’s health significantly deteriorated until she found the Eudes Foundation, where she received proper medical care and medication.
Dolutegravir, the medication that has been instrumental in Rodríguez’s recovery, is recommended by the World Health Organization as the best option for HIV treatment. However, access to this drug in Colombia is limited, with only 8% of HIV patients using it. The government’s decision to declare the patent of dolutegravir as a matter of public interest aims to increase access to the drug and improve the situation for HIV patients in the country.
While the government negotiates with ViiV Healthcare, many HIV-positive Venezuelan migrants, like Moreno, Campero, and Rodríguez, continue to rely on organizations like the Eudes Foundation for their treatment and care. The hope is that with increased access to dolutegravir, more people living with HIV can have a chance at a better future.