Approximately 8,000 people infected with HIV – Health Minister

May 26, 2016 News

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—about 500 new cases recorded annually

There are currently about 8,000 individuals living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Guyana. This is according to Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, who revealed that there are about 500 new cases

recorded annually.
Some 200 of these infected individuals die each year of complications related to the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), the Minister disclosed. AIDS is the syndrome caused by HIV.
But a great deal of progress has been made over the years, to tackle the scourge of HIV. Part of the efforts, according to the Minister, has included the introduction of strategic programmes aimed at helping to eliminate the transmission of HIV from mother to child. Cuba is reportedly the only territory to achieve the elimination of HIV and Syphilis.
Minister Norton is confident that, “Like Cuba has done already, if we continue improving on our management we should be able to achieve that goal in the near future.”
The Minister’s remarks were made yesterday during a press briefing at the Brickdam, Georgetown, Ministry of Public Health boardroom. The press briefing was intended to share with the media plans for Guyana’s participation in the Upcoming United Nations High Level meeting on HIV/AIDS. The meeting which will be held at the UN Headquarters in New York from June 8 – 10, 2016 will be attended by Minister Norton.
The Minister said, “It is important for us as a country to have representation at these high level meetings so that the strategy and political declarations that will come out of these meetings would be in sync with what would allow us to, at least, by 2020 be able to achieve the 90-90-90 goal.”
The 90-90-90 goal is one that speaks to the achievement of 90 per cent of persons being tested and knowing their HIV status, 90 per cent should be placed on treatment and 90 per cent of those on treatment should have an undetectable viral load. This is required if the UNAIDS strategy to eliminate HIV by 2030 is to be realised.
“Now that is a tall order and we might not be able to achieve that unless we adapt this fast track approach, and it might mean much more than doubling up; we might have to triple-up…” said Minister Norton. For this reason, he added, “We have to evaluate every effort that is out there to see how best we can adapt and improve the management of HIV/AIDS and related complications.”
Sharing the spotlight with Dr. Norton yesterday was UN Secretary General Special Envoy on HIV and AIDS, Dr. Edward Greene, and UNAIDS Country Representative, Dr. Martin Ouditt.
They all emphasised yesterday that Guyana, included among the Caribbean Region, accounts for the second highest prevalence of HIV. Sub Sahara Africa has the highest rate.
But while there has been progress, Dr. Ouditt stressed that “business is not finished. If we are talking about being at 58 per cent of people living with HIV (who are) receiving ART (Anti Retroviral Therapy) and we want to go to 90 per cent by 2021, you can see that we still have some work to do.”
This, according to Dr. Ouditt, is the state of affairs in the majority of countries. As such he noted that the time of the high level meeting comes at a most opportune time when the world has to make a serious decision.
But, according to Dr. Greene, the Caribbean has a unique structure in the Caricom Single Market and Economy. He pointed out that within Caricom, “We have a unit called the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV/AIDS…supported by UNAIDS, PANCAP has been identified by the UN system as an international best practice.”
The reason this has occurred, Dr. Greene noted, is because the Caribbean Region has a reasonably good governance arrangement in which all countries participate. According to him, “There is a shared responsibility at the regional level…unlike many other regions the Caribbean is noted for a consolidated approach and functional cooperation in negotiation,” Dr. Greene noted.
He, moreover, added that the Region will be embracing this very spirit of regional cooperation at the planned high level meeting led by Caricom and PANCAP with the support of UNAIDS. “What we are hoping for…is that perhaps we can make an impact on the political declaration to our advantage,” said Dr. Greene as he made reference to a regional consultation, by way of webinar, which saw a great deal of good inputs.
According to Greene, when ending AIDS is taken into consideration, “For us, small countries in the Caribbean, we can do it if we consolidate our position and we collaborate in shared responsibilities…”

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