Belgium sees HIV diagnoses increase for third year in a row
The number of HIV diagnoses in Belgium has risen for the third consecutive year, ending a years-long downward trend. A total of 655 people were diagnosed in 2023, 13 per cent more than in the previous year, figures from health institute Sciensano show.
The biggest increase is among men who have sex with men, where diagnoses rose by 16 per cent to 297 cases, mainly among men aged between 30 and 39. Men represent 70 per cent of all diagnoses.
Among heterosexual people, 328 new cases were diagnosed, an increase of 13 per cent. The rise occurred in both men and women, Belgians and non-Belgians.
The biggest increase among heterosexual people occurred in the 30-49 and 60-plus age groups. Among women, half of the infections were recorded among people from Sub-Saharan Africa.
"Certain groups slip through the cracks, making prevention more difficult"
“Since the beginning of the epidemic, there have been two major groups: Belgian men who have sex with men, and heterosexual people from Sub-Saharan Africa,” said says Sciensano researcher Jessika Deblonde.
“Today, however, we see more diversity in the profile of people living with HIV. Certain groups slip through the cracks, making prevention more difficult.”
Sciensano attributes the rise to several factors that undermine the effectiveness of HIV prevention. Some people are unaware of their risk and do not take preventive measures, while condom use in general is declining. While the use of PrEP – a preventive drug that can prevent infection – is increasing, it is still not prevalent enough among those at risk.
Wider availability
“PrEP has been available in Belgium’s 12 HIV reference centres since 2017. High-risk groups are largely reimbursed for it, paying 12 to 15 euros for 30 to 90 pills,” says Deblonde. But as the risk profile widens, that approach falls short, she says. “Going to such a centre is a big step. We advocate for wider availability.”
Though the number remains below that of 2012, when 1,038 people were diagnosed with HIV, experts are calling for action to tackle the recent trend.
Providing sex and relationship education through schools and other channels remains crucial. Deblonde: “We have to look beyond the traditional risk groups.”
"Prevention is obviously the most important thing: in exceptional cases, someone receiving treatment can still develop AIDS"
Sensoa, the Flemish expertise centre for sexual health, points out that Belgium has the means to tackle the epidemic but that the challenge is in making prevention and care accessible to all target groups.
“HIV remains an incurable disease,” says Deblonde, though advances in medication mean that a person with a timely HIV diagnosis now has a good life expectancy.
However, 92 people were still diagnosed with AIDS in 2023. Between 2020 and 2022, eight people in Belgium died of AIDS within a year of diagnosis. “Prevention is obviously the most important thing: in exceptional cases, someone receiving treatment can still develop AIDS,” Deblonde says.
A mural designed for sexual health expertise centre Sensoa in Antwerp © BELGA PHOTO THIERRY ROGE
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