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AIDS Secretariat honours voluntary counsellors, private organisations
Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy presents the award for Most Outstanding Counsellor/Tester to Ms. Alicia DeAbreu of the Cheddi Jagan Dental School.
The Ministry of Health, through its National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS), on Thursday held its Annual Awards ceremony, at which it honoured voluntary counsellers and testers, and private sector organisations.
Twelve testers/ counsellors were awarded for their outstanding performance in various categories. Alicia DeAbreau of the Cheddi Jagan Dental School received the award for the Most Outstanding Counsellor/Tester, while GT&T received the top award of the private sector organizations that were honoured.
In delivering the feature address, Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, commended the awardees and noted that the gesture of honouring employees at this time each year constitutes a growing emphasis on the part of the Ministry of Health to recognise the commitment and hard work of its health workers throughout the country.
Dr. Ramsammy also acknowledged the private sector and other leaders for coming on board to assist in the work being done by health officials.
“I think that, in any way we look at Guyana’s HIV/AIDS response, we have to be satisfied that much is being done,” he reiterated.
Dr. Ramsammy congratulated the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) for receiving the award for the Private Sector entity that provided the most outstanding support to the National Week of Testing. Minister Ramsammy also congratulated the other private sector organisations that provided support to the Week of Testing.
Also addressing the gathering was NAPS Programme Manager, Dr. Shanti Singh. She expressed satisfaction that the team at NAPS was working beyond the call of duty, adding that Guyana’s response to HIV demands a team with such commitment.
She noted that 2008 has been an extremely ‘intensive’ year for the secretariat. This has resulted in lower rates of mother-to-child transmission, a greater number of persons knowing their HIV status, and in more work among vulnerable populations.
Dr. Singh noted that Guyana’s patient monitoring system is used as an example for programmes across the Caribbean, and indeed, the World Health Organization has used Guyana’s patient monitoring system to pilot an annual monitoring report that would be available for global use.
Much has also been achieved in the area of treatment, care and support, where patients are ‘started’ at an earlier point in time on antiretroviral therapy and are living longer and healthier lives.
A quality care programme, that is looking at the quality of care for HIV among adults and children in primary health care settings and in the Georgetown Public Hospital, has got underway.
Additionally, support continues for the 25 orphanages across the country in ensuring that the minimum standards are met. The nutritional component of NAPS’ support programme ensures that 1,758 persons benefited from nutritional support to date.
Moreso, five persons living with HIV benefited from house lots and completed houses.
This year’s appreciation ceremony also awarded the private sector for contributing
to the recently concluded successful National Week of Testing.
The Private Sector Award for the most outstanding support was awarded to GT&T because it contributed to the Week of Testing with text messages to more than 250,000 of its customers.
Additionally, GT&T supported the secretariat with TV and radio time for advertising the activity, and with transportation support during the week, among other things.
Certificates of appreciation were awarded to John Fernandes Limited, Farfan and Mendes, City Mall, and Banks DIH for their support during the Week of Testing.
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