Prominent officials tested for HIV/AIDS

Oct 25, 2008 News

– as part of National Day of Testing

As part of the National Day of Testing for HIV/AIDS, a number of leading officials, including the new United States Ambassador to Guyana, John Jones, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, and Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy, turned up at the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS)and offered themselves to be tested for HIV/AIDS, yesterday.
The exercise was in preparation for the National Week of Testing, which will be held from November 17 to November 21.
Regional Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) Supervisor Trevor McIntosh lauded the officials who had come to be tested. He reminded them that it was always better for an individual to know their own HIV/AIDS status.
He also provided the officials with a concise presentation of what HIV/AIDS was and how it could be spread. After the group counselling session, each of the officials was individually counselled and tested for HIV/AIDS.
This is the third year that officials have been coming to be tested in the time leading up to the National Week of Testing.
Programme Manager for NAPS, Dr Shanti Singh, explained that by having officials and Government ministers tested before the National Week of Testing, it would help to motivate and inspire members of the public to also be tested.
She noted that, for the entire Week of Testing, many temporary testing sites would be set up in various places around Georgetown.
This, she said, would hopefully help to encourage persons to be tested. Added to this, she said, it is hoped that this year some 10,000 persons would be tested for HIV/AIDS.
According to Ambassador Jones, yesterday was “an important day, especially for a country like Guyana.”
The Prime Minister supported this, and encouraged members of the public to be tested, and in so doing, know their own status.