Beskrivelse av organisasjon

WHO WE ARE: GAT - Portuguese Activist Group for HIV/AIDS Treatment, founded in 2001, is a structure of individual membership of people affected by HIV. It’s a non-profit NGO, with IPSS (Private Institution of Social Solidarity on Health) status, based in Portugal, in Lisbon. GAT is the Portuguese member of the European Civil Society Forum a Think Tank on HIV/AIDS of the European Commission and recognised by WHO-Europe, ECDC, EMCDDA and UNAIDS. Our target group are the people infected by HIV or in risk of it (migrants, prisoners, sex workers, drug users, gay men…) in the area of Lisbon. OUR MISSION: GAT advocates and works (including participation in action/research) with other stakeholders for legal/political changes that will positively affect the health, rights and quality of life of people living with HIV associated diseases and from the most vulnerable groups. GAT considers that without universal access to prevention, test, treatments and care, there can be no control of the pandemic. GAT also advocates for rapid access to medical products, to testing and to means of diagnosis that prevents or treats HIV infection or that enhance the quality of life of people who live with or are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection. GAT also deals with other illness associated to HIV and with medical conditions that increase HIV infection risk. OBJECTIVES: • Develop the capacity of people infected or affected by HIV to influence directly the development, testing and approval of treatments for HIV as well as diagnostic tests that prevent, treat infection or improve the quality of life of people living with HIV. • Encourage best practices in health care and treatment for all; • Allow quick access to treatment; • Promote the availability of accurate information about treatments for people living with HIV, for healthcare providers and health policy-makers in this area ; • Advocate for changes in patent laws in order to promote the availability of HIV treatment at lower costs; • Advocate for legal and policy changes that affect the health, rights and quality of life of people living with HIV or in risk of it.; • Actively seek members among groups in vulnerability to HIV infection. Migrants, ethnic minorities, sex workers, drug users , women in general and women twice vulnerable because they belong to these previous groups , prisoners, and men who have sex with men . AIN AREAS OF INTERVENTION: 1. Partnership in research on HIV; 2. Illnesses frequently associated with people with HIV; 3. Use of substances, risk reduction and drug policy reform; 4. Legal, human and health rights of groups more vulnerable to HIV. REGULAR ACTIVITIES: 1. Distributing informative material on HIV and its treatment and prevention; 2. Trainings on adherence to treatments and on innovation in treatments 3. Research in cooperation with different institutes and organizations (at the moment gat cooperates with Portuguese “Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical” and with two other European-supported projects – SIALON and COBA Test) 4. National Activism (HIV National Forum; representation on the Health Committee in Parliament as a working group; representation in the Ethics Committee for Clinical Research and others;) 5. International Activism (representation in and cooperation with international organizations such as EATG, AIDS Action Europe, INPUD and European Civil Society Forum on HIV); 6. Community intervention with vulnerable population: a) CheckPointLX “Men who have sex with men” (rapid testing on HIV and sexually transmitted infections) b) IN-Mouraria “People who use drugs” (legal, social and medical support and syringe exchange) c) In-Mouraria “Migrants” (screening of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections”) d) IN-Mouraria “Sex workers” (medical and social support) 7. Others: Center for Anti-Discrimination (legal support for people who suffer discrimination; trainings on discrimination and stigma);