According to the national epidemiological data, from the time when diagnostics was started in 1985 until the end of 2012, over 16 thousand cases of HIV infections and nearly 3 thousand AIDS cases were identified (almost half of AIDS-infected people died). More and more funds are spent on HIV/AIDS control. Since 2007 the amount earmarked for the financing of the National HIV/AIDS Prevention Programme went up almost three times (from about PLN 100 million to nearly PLN 280 million). Nevertheless, the speed of HIV spread around Poland is still high and cannot be stopped. As regards the number of infections, Poland is much below the EU average (6th place in Europe). There are two other categories, though, which show alarming data. The speed of HIV spread is snowballing – in the past six years the number of infected persons more than doubled (from nearly 4 thousand to over 8 thousand). There are on average 13 percent more of newly HIV-infected persons every year. 62 percent of them cannot specify the source of infection.
The Supreme Audit Office positively evaluated the way the National AIDS Centre coordinated the roll-out of the National HIV/AIDS Prevention Programme in 2012-2013. Also, it provided support and medical care to HIV/AIDS infected people using appropriated funds. At the same time, NIK has pointed out that sufficient funds are an essential prerequisite of effective HIV prevention.
NIK has noted that all of the audited organisations took proper care of the HIV/AIDS infected people as well as their families and loved ones: efforts were taken to improve the quality of the patients’ lives and their functioning in general. Besides, the National AIDS Centre provided HIV tests and medicines.
The NIK audit results point to the need to increase funds for HIV prevention in the total amount of expenditures earmarked for the National HIV/AIDS Prevention Programme. It is also critical to work out and implement methods enabling qualitative measurement of activities carried out as part of the Programme.
NIK also underlines the need to verify if doctors report all cases of HIV infections (they are obliged to do so).
