Jim Phillips President

Checkpoint Canarias was established in 2022 having emerged from a group of LGBT business men who wanted to build on the work of British resident and activist, Jim Philips, of the Facebook group “Gay Gran Canaria”, in providing guidance and information, particularly on drugs like PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), a medicine that reduces your chances of getting HIV from sex or injection drug use.

 

When taken as prescribed, PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV, and has been revolutionary for the LGBTQIA+ community over the last decade. Similarly they wanted to provide accessible information about how to obtain PEP, the post-exposure prophylaxis, notoriously difficult to access in Spain, but which is a secondary prevention measure aimed at preventing the development of HIV infection after accidental exposure to the HIV virus through sexual intercourse.

The group’s primary focus has been the vibrant foreign resident, native and visiting gay community on Gran Canaria, specifically on the southern part of the island. The organisation was first suggested in the summer of 2022, and subsequently registered under the name Asociación de Bienestar Sexual Integral de Canarias (Canary Islands Sexual Wellbeing Association), as a non-profit entity with the goal of promoting sexual health and ensuring easy access to sexual health care and testing services.  Their remit now goes far beyond this initial focus, having successfully raised tens of thousands of euros by collecting direct donations from members of the public attending shows and events in the famous night spots of the Yumbo Centre, in Playa del Inglés.

To achieve their objectives, Checkpoint Canarias aims to engage in various activities, including sexual health promotion and prevention campaigns, with a focus on high-risk groups, specifically MSM (men who have sex with men), staying updated on the latest trends and recommendations in sexual health care and work towards promoting best practices for both the population and the medical profession. The association also reaches out to existing governmental and non-governmental organisations, both locally and internationally, to support shared objectives.

Checkpoint do not discriminate, however, and are happy to advise and offer sexual health screening and testing to people of all genders and orientations.

The name Checkpoint, itself, was modelled on the original BCN Checkpoint, a community-based centre in Barcelona for the detection of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, targeted at gay men, other men who have sex with men, and transgender women. It was set up by the NGO Projecte dels NOMS-Hispanosida in 2006 to address the impact of HIV on the LGBTQIA+ collective and promote sexual health.  BCN Checkpoint is a centre conceived and run by the community and is unique in Spain in that it approaches sexuality openly, without fears, moral judgements or prejudice.

GLAY & Checkpoint gather with activists on World AIDS Day at Yumbo

Checkpoint Canarias actively seeks funding for its primary goals from various sources, including international and European agencies, government entities, industrial and pharmaceutical companies, philanthropic social funds, and corporate sponsorships as well as having collected more than €35,000 in just their first year from weekly bucket collections in the show bars and venues of the Yumbo centre, home to The Canary Islands’ most successful PRIDE event, founded in 2002.  Checkpoint is recommended by the Gay and Lesbian Associates of Yumbo (GLAY) as a unique and useful free service offered to the community and the many tens of thousands of LGBT travellers who visit every month.

You can contact them directly by calling +34 828 6 43210 or go online and book your appointment here.

They currently conduct HIV and Hepatitis-C tests along with Hepatitis-B, Syphilis, Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea and offer general sexual health consultations.  The tests are anonymous and free and you only need give the first letter/initial from your name(s).  They do request an email address and preferably a mobile number.

You can also find the Checkpoint Kiosk in the main square of the Yumbo (Plaza de La Diversidad Darío Jaén) until November 12th as part of the Winter celebrations, or drop into their clinic (by appointment) serving Maspalomas – Playa del Inglés: Thur 12h00 – 14h00 & Fri 10h00 – 12h00 or 17h30-19h30