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National Testing Week target surpassed by 5,000

Dec 10, 2010 News

…as HIV prevalence among adolescents remains concern

Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy has revealed that a total of 35,000 persons took the opportunity to know their HIV status during the National Week of Testing some three weeks ago. Ahead of the exercise, the Minister had suggested an ambitious target of 30,000 to be tested.
“I am delighted that the Guyanese people took up the challenge and took our advice that knowing our HIV status is very important.”
The National Week of Testing had also impressively surpassed the Caribbean Week of Testing earlier this year which netted a total of 8,000 persons Caribbean-wide. This move was spearheaded by Scotiabank and PANCAP.
“Guyana alone has been able to do 35,000 tests during our National Week of Testing. That is a remarkable achievement for our country.”
According to the Minister, Region Six recorded 12,100 tests, retaining its position as the most productive Region for the second consecutive year, in this regard. The total number of persons that tested positive this time around was 218, according to the Minister, representing a prevalence of about 0.7 percent.
This percentage, the Minister said, corresponds with the 2010 UNAIDS/WHO report which listed Guyana as having an HIV prevalence of about 1.2 percent.
“The results of the National Week of Testing is concurring that there has been a reduction of the HIV prevalence cases in Guyana over the years. The UNAIDS/WHO Report used to traditionally, around 2000-2001, report a prevalence of three to five percent.”
The Health Ministry’s PMTCT (preventing mother-to-child transmission) data for this year is showing about one percent and other studies, according to the Minister, are showing between 0.7 and 1.1 percent.
In the past three years, the Health Sector has been able to test almost 40 percent of the total population, Minister Ramsammy speculated. According to him, there have been almost 350,000 tests carried out over the three-year period.
However, the Minister was able to deduce about 25 percent of the adult population know their HIV status. The World Health Organisation and UNAIDS have established that for a country to have an adequate and reliable testing programme which fits universal coverage, at least 14 percent of the adult population must seek to know their status.
“I want to congratulate the National AIDS Programme for this achievement…”
Area of concern
According to the Minister, while most of the news about HIV has been showing positive signs of improvement, there is yet one area of concern. And this, he revealed, is the fact that the 15 to 19 age group is not showing any reduction, although there is no evidence that there has been an increase in the prevalence of the disease.
“In all the other population groups and at-risk groups we see a gradual reduction in the incidence rate, but there is persistence in the number of young people that are newly infected. The 15-19 age group is an area of concern for Guyana…for me the most at-risk group is the adolescent age group,” Minister Ramsammy asserted.
As a result, he noted that the onus is on the Ministry to accelerate its prevention effort among this age group.

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