By Lucas Gutiérrez. Photo and video: National Front for the Health of People Living with HIV. This week marked the deadline for the HIV and STI (Sexually Transmitted Infections) bills to be debated in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Due to the legislators' lack of response, both bills lost their parliamentary status and are back to square one. The initiatives sought to legislate on social, labor, and human rights issues. The bills presented, which lost their parliamentary status this week, address urgent needs that various groups have been demanding. They reflect more than three years of collaborative work with contributions and participation from civil society, scientific institutions, international organizations, and national and provincial government agencies. “This won't stop us; we know the fight in the streets continues. We know we have to keep pressuring this government,” Matías Muñoz, outgoing national coordinator of the Argentine Network of Young People Living with HIV, told Presentes . Muñoz is also a member of the National Front for the Health of People Living with HIV, comprised of 66 civil society organizations.

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Today, Argentina is governed by an AIDS law dating back to the 1990s. “It’s a pioneering law, one of the first in the region. The thing is, it’s a law that deals with the biomedical aspects of the HIV and AIDS response,” José María Di Bello, secretary of the Fundación Grupo Positivo, explained to this publication.

Why is a new law necessary?

"It's our right and it's now": Franco Torchia explains why a new law on HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs is needed The new bill included social rights for access to healthcare, sustainable treatments, and an end to discrimination in access to health, education, and employment. It also mandates the participation of people living with HIV in decision-making. This bill also addresses the issue of mother-to-child transmission, as well as the reality of young people and adolescents born with the virus. Regarding viral hepatitis, there is no legislation protecting people living with the disease in Argentina. “It is a disease that has only recently become curable. And governments must be required to cover this treatment. Currently, they are not doing so, and people are dying from a curable infection.” He explained this in this note to Presentes Matías Muñoz.

#ThereIsNoMoreTime

On June 13, 2017, the bill—introduced in the Chamber of Deputies by Jorge Barreto (Front for Victory)—received a favorable opinion from the Health Committee. Since then, a response has been awaited to convene the remaining committees. This comes amid silence from National Deputy Daniel Lipovetzky, president of the General Legislation Committee, and National Deputy Luciano Laspina, president of the Budget and Finance Committee, both members of the National Front for the Health of People with HIV. They gathered several times in front of the National Congress demanding a response.“Lipovetzky now told us that (the bill) has some errors in legislative technique, but the advisory committee had said it was fine,” José María Di Bello declared this week in Radio ContinentalThis response comes five months after the health committee reached a quorum. The organizations believe the response comes without allowing sufficient time for action.

READ MORE: A "flag-waving" protest in front of Congress to demand that the HIV bill be debated

The bill that was in the Senate also loses its parliamentary status this week. It had been introduced last November by Silvina García Larraburu, María de los Ángeles Sacnun, Anabel Fernández Sagasti (all from the Front for Victory) and Magdalena Odarda (Progressive Front), along with the Forum for a New Law on HIV, Viral Hepatitis, and STIs. The National Front for the Health of People with HIV denounces that the explanation given was that the priority was addressing everything related to labor reform. "They tell us there is a political decision to move forward with the bills. However, due to the reform or because there is no agreement among the committees..." Neither chamber is addressing the HIV bill."Matías Muñoz said in an interview with the media outlet El Destape.

What follows

“This bill may fail today. But we know we will continue working to reintroduce it next year. If necessary, we will continue visiting legislators' offices and taking to the streets to demand that our right to a good quality of life be respected,” said Matías Muñoz.

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According to the Ministry of Health and its 2016 epidemiological bulletin, an estimated 120,000 people in Argentina are living with HIV. Of these, 30% are unaware of their status. This Friday, December 1st, the new findings will be presented as part of the meeting “World AIDS Day 2017: Strengthening the Response in Argentina.” It will take place at 10:00 AM at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires.