Treating HIV more pressing than Prevention - Chief Medical Officer

Treating HIV more pressing than Prevention – Chief Medical Officer

Sep 16, 2018 News

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, has said that he has observed some disagreement from the public over his position that the use of daily HIV prevention pill, PrEP (Pre Exposure Prophylaxis) could encourage more risky, sexual behaviour among Guyanese.
The Society against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) had called for the Public Health Ministry to introduce the drug to groups in Guyana who are disproportionately likely to be infected by the virus.
On Friday, Dr. Persaud said that, “people who are [HIV] positive should be the priority right now.” The Ministry of Health’s limited resources should be focused more on treatment, instead of trying to provide lifelong prevention “for someone who has risky behaviour.” This refers to some of the usual, initial target groups for the drug – Commercial Sex Workers (CSW) and Men who have Sex with Men (MSM).
Speaking on these groups, he said that there are some legal conflicts, which lend to stigma and barriers to public healthcare for those key populations, but that those issues are being targeted on other levels.
The Chief Medical Officer said, “I don’t want to deny anyone anything that is helpful.” The Ministry does not discriminate or seek to influence people’s sexual behaviour, but that they have limited resources that must be focused on treating people who are already affected.
There has been a lot of focus on Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission. Akin to this, even though transmission from mother to child can be prevented, there is also an effort to ensure that babies are provided with certain treatments after their birth.
Breast milk substitutes are provided for infants. They are also supposed to be screened throughout their infancy, and given prophylactic treatment because they are more prone to being infected by a range of diseases. This would ensure that children born to HIV+ mothers could still go on to live normal, healthy lives.
Stigma, according to Persaud, is a problem that the Ministry of Public Health has been targeting by continuous public education. He explained that there are attempts to quell ignorance in many sections of society, including faith based organizations, the tourism industry and the private sector. Persaud said that even health workers could sometimes be a source of stigma because of gossiping and lack of confidentiality.
Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, had suggested that her ministry noticed statistics, which might have indicated an increase in HIV/AIDS trends among the youth population. Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, explained that the increase in statistics is generally attributable to the fact that the ministry’s testing strategy has been restructured to include a wider group, including more key populations who are more prone to HIV transmission.
The Chief Medical Officer’s report will shed light on the recent rates of HIV and Guyana’s progress on the UNAIDS “90-90-90” target. This target seeks to ensure that, by 2020, 90% of persons who are living with HIV/AIDS will know their HIV status; that 90% of all who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy (ART); and that 90% of all people receiving ART will have viral suppression.
The Ministry of Public Health is smoothing over the statistics they have acquired over the past few years and is expected to release the Chief Medical Officer’s report soon.