More healthcare professionals, social workers needed in Hinterland
–given concerns over spread of HIV/AIDS

WITH concerns over the spread of HIV/AIDS in Amerindian communities, there is a need for expanding services in the hinterland areas, utilizing the services of Non-government Organisations committed to combating the problem.
The issue was highlighted at ‘The findings of the rapid assessment on HIV stigma, discrimination and gender-based violence in Guyana’ at a stakeholders meeting, hosted by representatives of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Advancing Partnering and Communities project on Tuesday.
Speaking during the meeting which was held at the Grand Coastal Inn, Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara, Dr. Jocelyn Lehrer, Senior Technical Specialist, Gender, Violence and Health International Center for Research on Women, stated that the report was submitted after gathering information on the programmatic and capacity needs of Non-Government Organisations.
Additionally she said that the findings show that organisations working with key populations in the hinterland areas have expressed the need for more health care professionals and services, such as social workers in these areas.

INCENTIVES
Given the difficulties of living situations in such areas, incentives could be considered to get qualified candidates interested in these positions.
Moreover, the difficulty is to get HIV prevention, care and treatment services to these areas, which there are vulnerable populations involved in mining and sex work.
A representative from Youth Challenge noted that the scale of testing in these areas needs to be increased but the indigenous people in the hinterland areas have a lot of stigma in their communities.
However, currently there are various HIV/AIDS awareness programmes that have been conducted as outreaches to the various Amerindian communities in order to spread the message about the dangers associated with the virus.

OTHER SOCIAL ILLS
The focus is not only on the HIV/AIDS issue, but also on other social ills such as substance abuse, domestic violence, alcohol, and child and sexual abuse which are also being discussed in the various villages.
Such programmes entail visiting a number of communities, especially the hinterland ones, in an effort to sensitise the residents to problems relating to HIV/AIDS and the threat to their livelihood.
In the past, some mining companies used to pay for HIV counseling and testing at their camps; but the companies are no longer supporting these efforts. However, Non-government Organisations are calling for such services to be re-stared in these areas .

(By Clestine Juan)