THE Ministry of Public Health hosted a national dialogue on HIV and the Law, on October 13 -14 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal.Minister of Public Health Dr. George Norton, in his opening remarks stated that while “Guyana has achieved laudable milestones in response to the AIDS epidemic… notable challenges also remain: we have to address stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV or AIDS and against key populations; we need to provide wider access in the hinterland regions, and continue to scale-up access to treatment and retention of patients in care.”

Also speaking at the forum was United Nations Resident Coordinator Ms. Mikiko Tanaka, who emphasised that “In order to ensure that Guyana reaches its Fast Track Targets to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, we will have to remain vigilant and address the challenges of stigma and discrimination and ensure that the all the citizens of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana have access to comprehensive HIV prevention and treatment programmes.”

This national dialogue, the third of its kind in the Caribbean, was supported by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The dialogue reviewed good practices, as well as weaknesses within the legal framework that hampers the comprehensive response to the AIDS epidemic. Cases related to the themes of violence against women/gender-based violence, children and adolescents in residential homes/orphanages, people with disabilities, indigenous populations, sexual orientation and gender identity, sex work, prisons and detention centres and discrimination in social and health services were discussed.

Some 35 stakeholders, from government ministries to civil society organizations, were part of the conversation to aim at developing concrete and actionable recommendations for a more enabling legal environment to address the social, cultural and economic determinants of HIV.

UNAIDS Country Director, Dr. Martin Odit noted that this forum is a demonstration of the government’s commitment to fast tracking the AIDS response so as to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of ending AIDS by 2030.

In this regard, Guyana has made significant advances in areas such as access to treatment; more than 4500 people are accessing ARV in 22 health centers within the country, and the reduction of mother-to-child-transmission of HIV.

Nonetheless populations at higher risk of HIV infection are still confronting several obstacles that limit their ability to access comprehensive health and social services.