THE Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region is at the point of achieving the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and the widespread use of anti-retrovirals (ARVs) has been the single most important feature of those prevention efforts.

Director of Sustainable Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, Mr. Garfield Barnwell, made this disclosure as he delivered remarks at the opening ceremony of a bi-national commission meeting for the collaboration on health between Guyana and Suriname at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC) at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown on Friday, where he also stated that access to ARVs across the region has been pivotal to the success in reducing mortality from HIV, and coverage of those eligible has reached over 50 percent.
“You all are aware of the tremendous risk faced by the region at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The CARICOM sub-region had the highest incidence of HIV facing any sub-region, with the exception of sub-Saharan Africa,” he pointed out.
Barnwell said the economic potential of the region was under serious threat by every expert estimate; but, twelve years later, this threat has been mitigated by the persistent work of the Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP).
According to him, the tireless work of its stalwarts should never be forgotten, since the partnership, in its infancy, negotiated on the world stage the first successful reduction of the prices of ARVs. This negotiation was done with the international pharmaceutical Companies, and saw the reduction of the prices of ARVs from US $12,000 per year per patient to just about US$1000.
Barnwell noted, however, that while the region’s successes in clinical management have been wonderful, the work in other areas has lagged, particularly its success in dealing with stigma and discrimination, which has been below par.
According to him, the lack of equal access to prevention, care and treatment has been of concern, and the current UN Ambassador to the region, Dr. Edward Greene, continues to champion the cause of the vulnerable and ineligible by promoting the need for effective anti-stigma policies.
Barnwell also noted the contribution to PANCAP in this effort, making particular reference to an anti-stigma toolkit which continues to be useful to HIV workers and enterprises.