Draft STI Strategic Plan launched
A CONSENSUS meeting on STI/HIV, at which the Draft Guyana Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) Strategic Plan 2011-2020, Guyana’s first comprehensive STI Strategy, was launched, convened at Cara Lodge, Georgetown, on Monday, constituting a watershed occasion in the history of the development of the local health sector.

The high-level meeting, at which UNAIDS Country Director, Dr. Ruben del Prado was present, was conducted by the Ministry of Health/National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS), in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), and brought together a core team of medical doctors with other key health sector officials for launching  the draft document.

Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, delivered the main address and other speakers included Dr. Shanti Singh, Programme Manager of NAPS; Dr. Beverly Barnett, PAHO/WHO Representative; and Dr. Shauna Scotland, National STI Coordinator, who presented and did an overview of the Guyana STI Strategic Plan.
Dr. Ramsammy, stressing the importance of bringing sexually transmitted infections under control, so as to arrest maternal and preventable childhood deaths in pursuance of the nation’s goal to achieve the health target of long life, made a strong point for more attention to be paid to and resources allocated for addressing sexual and reproductive health on the development agenda.
Said Dr. Ramsammy, “I believe that sexual reproductive health is one of the  neglected areas in our development story. I’m making a call for all of us to place sexual and reproductive health higher on the development agenda.”

Moreover, he expressed conviction that sexual and reproductive health is a critical element in devising any strategy to improve the lives of people everywhere.
Alluding to the International Conference of Population and Development (ICPD) caucus held in Cairo in 1994, Dr. Ramsammy recalled that commitments were made, highlighting sexual and reproductive health as a pre-requisite for achieving the related Millennium Development Goals, but which have not been honoured.

The ICPD was described as a landmark conference, resulting in an impressive and ambitious set of goals for improving sexual health and reproductive rights all over the world. Dr. Ramsammy was concerned that, wherever sexual and reproductive health is neglected, it is done to the peril of humanity, and unless it is given the  prominence it deserves, conversely, poverty can never be adequately addressed.
HIV has today become the STI attracting the most attention and investment, sometimes, at the expense of other STIs.  However, the minister, while appreciative of the investments and resources pumped into preventing HIV and managing AIDS, stressed the importance of addressing all the STIs, noting that the international goals will not be achieved if all of the STIs are not addressed.
The Strategic Plan notes that, as the major  commitment from global funding has been HIV/AIDS specific, much of the focus has been placed on care and treatment for HIV, and less focus has been placed on other sexually transmitted infections (STI).
It stressed that STIs may have serious health, social, emotional, and economic consequences. In recognition of this, the Ministry of Health, through the National AIDS Programme Secretariat, has committed to providing national leadership, in collaboration with local, regional, national and international partners to develop a comprehensive strategy to effectively manage and prevent STIs in Guyana.
Five priority areas have been identified for this strategy, namely:
* Strengthening STI programme management and coordination
* Promoting healthy sexual behaviours to reduce the transmission of STIs
* Expanding access to STI prevention, care and treatment in the health sector
* Increasing access to medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and laboratory support, and
* Improving the availability of strategic information.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ramsammy lauded the strides made in the acquisition of laboratory diagnostics locally, making testing of smears and samples swift and easy, adding a boost to Guyana’s tracking and surveillance capability.
The Goal of the Guyana STI Strategic Plan 2011-2020 is to reduce the transmission of and morbidity and mortality caused by STIs, and to minimise the personal and social impact of the infections.
The Purpose of the Plan is to:
* Provide the structural framework to guide the coordination, implementation and evaluation of the national response to STIs in Guyana
* To serve as a mechanism for the engagement of partners and stakeholders involved in the STI programme
* Serve as an advocate for the support of the National STI Programme.
The Primary Objectives of the Guyana STI Strategic Plan 2011-2020 are:
* To increase the national capacity to manage and coordinate the STI Programme
* To intensify strategies aimed at primary and secondary prevention for STIs
* To strengthen the health system to provide quality and efficient STI service by enhancing national laboratory and procurement and supplies management systems.
The STI Strategic Plan 2011-2020 was developed through an inclusive and broad consultative process, spearheaded by the Ministry of Health and supported through the PAHO/WHO. The process was facilitated through a local and external consultant, and began on July 16, 2010.

Through this means, participants were sensitized to the development of the STIO Strategy, while offering feed-back on key elements to be included in the strategy. Stakeholders included persons from governmental and non-governmental organizations, donor agencies, clinicians and other health sector providers at the local, regional, national and international levels.

The findings of consultations with these stakeholders led to the identification of proposed priority areas around which the first series of focus group workshops was organized last September.