🛡️ The Situation

Belgian healthcare is built around two things: your Mutuelle (health insurance fund) and the HIV Reference Center (HRC) network. The Mutuelle keeps your costs minimal — without it, PrEP alone costs €200+/month and every consultation is billed in full. The HRC is the gateway to reimbursed PrEP (€8–12/month via the Convention) and the most expert venue for testing and HIV management. The community anchors are Ex Aequo in Brussels and the ITM Help Center in Antwerp.

⚖️ The Golden Rules

  • Join a Mutuelle Before You Need Healthcare: The Mutuelle (French) / Ziekenfonds (Dutch) is Belgium's mandatory health insurance fund. You need your eID and National Register number. Registration takes a week or two — do not wait until you need care.
  • PrEP Requires an HRC — Not a GP: PrEP is reimbursed in Belgium through a Convention signed with an approved HIV Reference Center (HRC). Your GP cannot initiate this. The Convention brings your monthly cost to approximately €8–12.
  • PEP Requires University Hospital A&E: Go to the Spoedgevallen / Urgences (emergency department) of a university hospital (like CHU Saint-Pierre in Brussels or UZA in Antwerp). Outside major cities, any provincial hospital emergency department can start a PEP starter pack. Do not wait.

⚖️ The Reality of the System

  • The Mutuelle system keeps out-of-pocket costs extremely low for sexual healthcare.
  • The HIV Reference Center (HRC) network provides highly specialized, affirming care.
  • PrEP is heavily subsidized (€8–12/month) via the HRC Convention.
  • Excellent community support through Ex Aequo (Brussels) and the ITM Help Center (Antwerp) for those without insurance.
  • The Mutuelle system is bureaucratic; you often pay upfront and wait for reimbursement (unless third-party payer applies).
  • PrEP access is bottlenecked by the HRC network; you cannot initiate it via a regular GP.
  • Access outside major cities can mean navigating provincial hospitals with less specialized staff.

💬 Anonymous Partner Notification

If you test positive for an STI and cannot face telling a recent partner directly, you still have a responsibility to stop onward transmission.

Use depistage.be or partneralert.be. Depistage.be allows you to directly send an anonymous SMS notification to recent partners. Partneralert.be requires a specific code provided by a healthcare professional (like at an HRC) when you are diagnosed, which you can use on their site to trigger anonymous SMS or email alerts. Both systems protect your identity.

🗺️ Guide Map

Testing & Clinics

Prevention

Emergencies & Support

Result Management

Support & System