Casa Fonte Colombo (Agenzia Fides) - The Center for the Promotion of HIV-positive Patients, run by the Literary Association of St. Bonaventure of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin in Rio Grande do Sul, celebrates 10 years of service in the field of prevention, accompanying people living with HIV/AIDS, the re-establishment of family ties, and social re-insertion. On 30 November, to celebrate this date, there will be a panel discussion with a group of experts to talk about the challenges of the epidemic in Porto Alegre, with the participation of the Department of DST and AIDS of the Ministry of Health.
La Casa Fonte Colombo is also the headquarters of the Pastoral Care of AIDS of Region South 3 of the Bishops' Conference (CNBB - Rio Grande do Sul) and the Catholic Network for HIV/AIDS, currently active in nine countries. The institution has become a point of reference for work with AIDS patients in the current context of the HIV/DST/AIDS pandemic, and according to reports from the UN, it remains a major challenge as the number of infections continues to rise in Brazil. There are also still 5 million patients who are unable to access medicines. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 30/11/2009)