The care and conditions for people living with HIV/AIDS in Malta are very good, according to the Euro HIV Index (EHIVI) 2009, which was presented today in Brussels.

This first survey of HIV policy and best practice ranked Malta second out of 29 countries, scoring 791 points from a potential 1,000. Luxembourg topped the list with 857 points.

The survey showed that Malta is doing rather well in all four sub-disciplines. And although the total number of HIV/AIDS cases was still small compared to other countries, it was growing fast.

“Prevention and access should be the main areas for increased efforts, especially as in recent years the number of people on the island infected with HIV has quadrupled; half of the cases being treated in Malta involve African immigrants.

"There is a risk that such good performance deteriorates in the near future because of lack of financial support and human resources,” Beatriz Cebolla, the Euro HIV index director said.

While the number of people living with HIV (PLWH) increased in every member state, budgets in several countries were reduced.

Sexual risk behaviour was becoming more regular practice. Criminalisation of HIV was a problem in many countries, and access to care for marginalised groups such as undocumented migrants was not guaranteed almost anywhere in Europe.

Discrimination and stigma was frequent and harm reduction strategies in prisons were still weakly implemented, especially in the Eastern European countries.

There was a general lack of leadership in HIV management and no government seemed to know the true number of HIV-infected inhabitants. The main conclusion of the HIV Index was that there still was a lot to be done.