Organisations

Acompanha – Cooperativa de Solidariedade Social, C.R.L. provides a range of services for sex workers. These include screening for sexually transmitted infections at the community testing center and in apartments. When needed, cases are referred for diagnostic confirmation or for access to PrEP or PEP. The team also distributes preventive materials such as condoms and lubricants.

Location: Peniche

Associação de Intervenção Comunitária, Desenvolvimento Social e de Saúde – AJPAS is a project focused on the prevention and screening of HIV, viral hepatitis (B and C), and syphilis, particularly targeting people most vulnerable to these infections. The team consists of mediators who go to locations frequented by the target population, bringing services closer and reducing barriers to access.

AJPAS activities include distributing preventive materials, such as internal and external condoms and water-based lubricants, as well as providing information and awareness-raising to help the target populations acquire proper knowledge and practices for infection prevention and control.

Location: Sintra

Porto G is a community outreach team established in 2008 under the National HIV/AIDS Program of the Portuguese Directorate-General of Health (DGS), as part of the national fight against HIV/AIDS.

The project has a multidisciplinary team, including nurses, health technicians, a legal advisor, and psychologists, who regularly visit various locations across the Greater Porto area to engage with sex workers in indoor settings.

The team provides essential services to the target population, such as distributing internal and external condoms, water-based lubricants, and latex bands. When needed, nursing services are offered, including vaccination and wound care. The team also provides free STI screening tests, including HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B and C, either at their headquarters or in outreach settings.

Location: Porto; Vila Nova de Gaia; Penafiel

Associação para o Planeamento da Família (APF) has several branches across Portugal and provides support to sex workers. However, its scope is broader, addressing sexual and reproductive health and the prevention of risky behaviors among diverse populations. The association also distributes preventive materials, conducts STI screenings, and offers social and legal support.

APF is the Portuguese member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), a global network of family planning associations in almost every country.

Locations: Lisbon; Alentejo; Algarve; Porto

Associação ABRAÇO (founded in 1991) is a private, non-profit organisation that supports people living with HIV/AIDS and works in the prevention and detection of new cases. The Abraço project began at Hospital Egas Moniz in Lisbon, initiated by a group of volunteers aiming to improve existing hospital conditions and provide social, material, and psychological support to HIV/AIDS patients and their families.

In addition to community screening services, ABRAÇO offers health education, counselling, and psychological support. All services are provided free of charge to the entire population, regardless of socio-economic status.

Locations: Porto; Braga; Aveiro; Lisbon; Setúbal; Funchal

Associação Existências carries out support activities for people living with HIV/AIDS and other STIs through the Adão e Eva II project. Since 2004, the project has developed various initiatives aimed at increasing knowledge about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), promoting responsible and preventive behaviors, and preventing the transmission of these infections.

Additionally, Adão e Eva II seeks to raise awareness and provide information to groups directly affected by HIV/AIDS and other STIs, such as sex workers and men who have sex with men, as well as the general public, about the health precautions needed to prevent HIV/AIDS and other STIs.

Location: Coimbra

Associação Plano i is an LGBTQI+ rights organisation. As such, Plano i aims to promote equality, respect, and inclusion for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The organisation runs Casa Arco-íris, a shelter for victims of LGBTI domestic violence, and also provides specialised psychological support for children and young people who are victims of domestic violence.

Locations: Porto; Braga

SER+, Associação Portuguesa para Prevenção e Desafio à SIDA is a non-profit organisation that has been operating since 1997, providing services to people living with HIV and other populations vulnerable to HIV.

One of its main services is STI screening, which can be done at the SER+ headquarters in Cascais by appointment or at the mobile unit on a first-come, first-served basis. The association also runs a Food Assistance Program.

Location: Cascais

Associação Positivo is a private non-profit social solidarity organisation (I.P.S.S.), established in 1993 as Associação Positivo – Support and Self-Help Groups, providing support to people living with HIV/AIDS, their families, friends, and partners in the Greater Lisbon area.

Associação Positivo works with people living with HIV/AIDS, offering a range of technical and support services, including infection screening, medical consultations, access to PEP and PrEP, peer support, psychological, psychiatric, social, and online counselling, as well as socio-cultural activities. For the past 15 years, the association has also developed outreach services for sex workers, focusing on health promotion and providing medical, psychological, and social support.

Location: Lisbon

Projeto Bússola provides specialised support for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender people (LGBTI+), and their families or loved ones. The office offers information and psychological support, mediates with other agencies, and encourages collaboration. Recently, it joined the National Network for Supporting Victims of Domestic Violence, assisting LGBTI+ individuals affected by dating violence, domestic abuse, or bullying. The project also promotes awareness-raising activities and provides technical guidance to institutions and organisations on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression issues.

Location: Guimarães

Cáritas Diocese de Coimbra is a private social solidarity organisation providing interdisciplinary social, health, educational, and pastoral support to communities across the five districts of the Central Region of Portugal.

Cáritas recognises its social responsibility and has developed its activities over time to support individuals, families, and groups who are socially and economically disadvantaged.

The Equipa de Rua “Reduz” project works with sex workers and people experiencing homelessness, offering essential social services.

Location: Coimbra

Equipa de Rua Dá a Volta! is a project launched in November 2008, co-funded by SICAD (Intervention and Conduct in Drug Addiction Service) and the Ovar City Council. Operating within a public health harm reduction framework, the project works with people with addictive behaviours and sex workers throughout the city of Ovar.

The team provides harm reduction materials, including syringe distribution through a needle exchange program, aluminum foil, male and female condoms, and lubricants. Medical services are also offered, such as nursing care, HIV/AIDS and syphilis testing, vaccination, pharmacotherapy, and support for methadone use.

Location: Ovar

SMACTE is a Street Team from the Centro Social de Paramos, operating under harm reduction strategies and policies. The team supports adults who use psychoactive substances.

Its main services include distribution of injection and/or smoking consumption materials, male and female condoms, lubricants, small meals, clothing, and hygiene supplies. The team also provides nursing care and first aid, vaccination, rapid testing, and medication-assisted treatment. Additionally, psychosocial and legal support are offered to the community.

Location: Espinho

Associação Crescer has been developing projects since 2001 focused on the inclusion of socially excluded groups. Its programs include an outreach street team providing assistance to people experiencing homelessness, operating in the main areas of psychoactive substance use in Lisbon. The project works in STI prevention, psychological counselling and support, nursing care, STI screening, and health education. In 2013, Crescer launched the É UMA CASA – Lisbon Housing First project.

By addressing issues such as poverty, discrimination, and inequality, Associação Crescer has a significant impact on the lives of individuals and communities across the region.

Location: Lisbon

Florinhas do Vouga is a direct intervention team working with socially excluded populations and communities affected by drug addiction. In recent years, the team has also extended its work to people experiencing homelessness, sex workers, and individuals with mental health conditions.

The Florinhas do Vouga Direct Intervention Team aims to contribute to primary and secondary prevention of substance abuse through early identification and intervention with populations at risk. The team is composed of specialized professionals, including technicians and psychologists, working in the fields of mental health, addiction, and social development.

Location: Aveiro

Portuguese Foundation “A Comunidade Contra Sida” (FPCCSIDA) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation established to prevent HIV/AIDS and support people living with the virus. The foundation carries out awareness campaigns on infection prevention and provides support to people living with HIV and their families. Services include prevention counselling, HIV testing, and medical and psychological follow-up.

The Youth Counselling and Guidance Centres (CAOJ) of FPCCSIDA promote awareness about the impact of sexually transmitted infections, the importance of health and sexuality education in schools, volunteer training, and teacher self-training in the areas of sexuality and HIV/AIDS.

Locations: Coimbra, Funchal, Guarda, Lisbon, Porto, Setúbal

Grupo de Ativistas em Tratamento (GAT) runs a range of projects and services aimed at promoting health, preventing, screening, and treating HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), viral hepatitis, and tuberculosis, supporting people living or who have lived with these infections and their consequences.

GAT operates several STI testing centres and an anti-discrimination and stigma-fighting centre for people living with HIV. Services include distribution of condoms, free STI testing, PrEP and PEP provision, referral to infectious disease consultations, and peer support to access healthcare services.

Locations: Almada, Setúbal, Mouraria, Intendente, Lisbon

Liga Portuguesa Contra a Sida (LPCS) is a private social solidarity institution (IPSS) dedicated to preventing HIV infection, supporting people living with HIV/AIDS, and raising public awareness about the epidemic.

LPCS offers free services, including anonymous HIV and STI testing, legal support, hospital support, nutrition support tailored for people living with HIV, and psychological and social assistance. The organisation also runs peer support group sessions where people living with HIV share experiences to help reduce feelings of sadness, frustration, and isolation.

Locations: Lisbon, Odivelas

Movimento de Apoio à Problemática da SIDA (MAPS) is a non-profit association aimed at supporting the community of people living with HIV and those affected by issues such as homelessness, substance use, social emergencies, and other vulnerabilities.

MAPS provides services throughout the Algarve (Barlavento and Sotavento) with a focus on proximity and risk reduction. Its social and healthcare support includes infection screening, condom distribution, referral to health services (PEP and PrEP), home support services, and psychosocial assistance.

Locations: Albufeira, Armação de Pêra, Faro, Lagoa, Loulé, Portimão, Quarteira, Tavira

Associação Médicos do Mundo is a non-governmental humanitarian organization focused on development cooperation, supporting people who use drugs, sex workers, homeless populations, and migrants.

The organization runs projects in Portugal and internationally across multiple areas, including HIV/AIDS, mental health, psychosocial support, harm reduction, and social inclusion. Services include outreach through mobile teams, infection screening at fixed centers, nursing care, and distribution of condoms and safe-use materials.

Locations: Barcelos, Lisbon, Porto

Mundo A Sorrir is a non-governmental development organization (NGDO), founded in July 2005 in Porto, promoting oral health as a universal right for socioeconomically vulnerable populations and people living with HIV.

The project offers individualized dental care, psychosocial support during treatment, and follow-up to encourage healthy oral hygiene habits.

Locations: Braga, Cascais, Lisbon, Porto

Centro de Acolhimento e Orientação à Mulher (CAOMIO), run by the Oblate Sisters, supports cis and trans women sex workers to promote their social inclusion. Outreach teams complement the center’s work by engaging with women in their own environments, ensuring proximity and accessibility.

Services include psychological support, legal advice, employment assistance, food bank, distribution of preventive materials such as condoms and lubricants, rapid STI testing, gynecology consultations, and nursing care.

Location: Lisbon

Emprego Primeiro – Porta Aberta | Agência de Empregabilidade is an integrated initiative aimed at improving employability for vulnerable groups. Its target audience includes people who use licit and illicit psychoactive substances, individuals experiencing homelessness, sex workers, and migrants.

The project provides specialized support in employability, mentoring, psychological assistance, and guidance for employers in accessing incentives and identifying suitable candidates.

Locations: Lisbon

A Mundo A Sorrir é uma Organização Não Governamental para o Desenvolvimento (ONGD), fundada em julho de 2005 no Porto, que promove a Saúde e a Saúde Oral como um direito universal junto das populações em situação de vulnerabilidade socioeconómica e pessoas com VIH.

No âmbito do projeto são realizadas consultas de Medicina Dentária com base num plano de tratamento individualizado, apoio psicossocial no decorrer do plano de tratamento, e acompanhamento após o tratamento para estabelecer hábitos de higiene oral saudáveis. 

Locais: Braga, Cascais, Lisboa, Porto

O Serviços de Assistência organizações de Maria (SAOM) é uma instituição privada de solidariedade social com vários serviços disponíveis no âmbito da reinserção e apoio social a idosos, jovens e pessoas em situação de sem-abrigo.

A equipa de rua da SAOM visa minimizar os riscos associados ao consumo de substância e criar condições de proximidade para apoiar xs consumidores no processo de desabituação e reinserção social. 

Local: Porto