Sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) are rampant in Spain (also in Europe). The incidence does not stop growing and some, such as gonorrhea and syphilis, have increased for more than 20 years.
Specifically, the incidence of the first has multiplied by 25 in these two decades and that of the second by 10. In relation to chlamydia, the panorama is not different, since it has shot up 245% since 2016 (Report from Epidemiological surveillance of sexually transmitted infections in Spain 2022 from the National Epidemiology Center and the Carlos III Health Institute). Given this scenario, the Ministry of Health is studying whether condoms are financed by the health system, being free for young people with lower purchasing power.
This was indicated by Minister Mónica García in the Senate Health Commission. “This Ministry has a clear roadmap to address the increase in STIs, in line with the ECDC recommendations, and protect the health of the population, especially our young people,” she noted. STIs mainly affect young adults between 20-44 years old, being more striking in men between 20-34 years old in the case of syphilis and gonorrhea, and in women in the case of chlamydia.
To address these increases, Health will improve accessibility to condoms because “it makes no sense to cover a vaccine to prevent infection, but not a barrier method like a condom,” says García.
For this reason, García’s department studies that “the condom is covered by the public system, being free for those young age groups with lower purchasing power and who present significant increases in STI rates.”
In the human resources chapter, Mónica García has made reference to 24-hour guards, which she intends to eliminate during this legislature and within the framework of the reform of the Framework Statute. “For the health of workers and the safety of patients, we must address this issue and rethink health care without making working conditions precarious,” she noted.
The minister has insisted that there is “plenty” of evidence that 24-hour shifts are harmful to professionals and patients. For the latter, because it represents an increase in the incidence of medical errors. And for the former, “the shifts imply sleep disorders, physical exhaustion, an increase in the number of diagnoses of anxiety or depression, as well as an increase in the consumption of psychotropic drugs, an increase in cardiovascular events. In addition, it represents an important barrier to conciliation of family and social life.
Mónica García, as she already did in Congress, has referred to the need to recover pride in public health, to reinforce primary care, to increase the portfolio of oral health services for minors and the elderly. 65 years old, also glasses and contact lenses and mental health reinforcement, among others.
