THE Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the UNAIDS, on Tuesday, initiated the process of developing a new HIV National Strategic Plan (2021-2025), even as it placed under review HIVISION 2020, which spanned from 2013-2020.

The new strategic plan, which is intended to pave the way for the elimination of AIDS in Guyana by 2030, is being developed by the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS) with support from local, regional and international partners within the field of health.

During a ceremony to mark the launch of the review and the development of the new plan at the Ocean View Hotel, Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence said Guyana has made significant strides in reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and in the provision of testing and treatment services to affected persons. But, she acknowledged that there was more work to be done.

In 2019, there were approximately 500 new Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) cases recorded. Overall, the Health Ministry estimates that there are approximately 8,200 persons living with HIV and the Acquired immune-deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in the country.

Minister Lawrence said Guyana, like other countries within the region, is committed to bring an end to AIDS by 2030. To demonstrate its commitment, Guyana aligned its HIVISION 2020 Strategic Plan to that of UNAIDS 90–90–90 target by 2020. The UNAIDS 90-90-90 target aims to diagnose 90 per cent of all HIV positive people; provide Anti-retroviral Therapy (ART) for 90 per cent of those diagnosed and achieve viral suppression for 90 per cent of those treated.

Guyana, Minister Lawrence reminded, was the first country in the Region to diagnose 90 per cent of all of the persons estimated to be positive with HIV. Though the country has been successful in achieving the first 90 per cent, it still faces challenges with respect to having those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS remain on treatment to allow for viral suppression.
“Approximately 20 per cent of the persons aware of their status have not accessed treatment, which can enable them to live a long and healthy lives and reduce the spread of HIV. Further, new infections are increasing among our young people – ages 20 through 29-year-old. Our men are not accessing the testing sites, and therefore we will need to take the services to them, and while testing coverage for our mothers is greater than 95 per cent, the challenge still exists in having 100 per cent of them linked to treatment services to reduce the transmission of HIV from mother to child,” the Health Minister explained.
In 2019, she said, the Health Ministry observed an increase in new infections among women when compared to men. Among factors contributing to these trends, is that of Stigma and Discrimination.

“Some of the major barriers that continue to hinder progress in this area include stigma and discrimination, lack of family support, limited community involvement, reduced number of active stakeholders, supply-chain management as well as system hurdles that we continue to address,” Minister Lawrence told those present.

Despite these challenges, Guyana achieved several milestones within the last seven years, including the adoption of combination prevention, the introduction of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), the provision of HIV treatment through a Private-Public Partnership and universal testing among pregnant mothers among others. Added to that, in 2021, Guyana will take up a seat on the UNAIDS Board.

As a result of these achievements, Minister Lawrence reported that there have been changes in the funding landscape to HIV response, including significant reduction in donor funding and gradual increase in domestic resources. “The reduction in donor funding has significantly affected the community’s level response which was heavily funded by international donors. Additionally, with the discovery of oil, Guyana was elevated from a lower-middle-income country to upper-middle-income [country] even before we had one barrel [of crude] on the ship, which means that, over the next five to 10 years, we could see donor funding to our nation for the HIV response diminished even further,” the Health Minister said as she painted a vivid picture of the situation.

In light of the reality, Minister Lawrence said the new national strategic plan should include provisions for increase partnerships locally with greater involvement of the private sector. Importantly, she said, youths should be given a seat at the decision-making table, and prevention programme aimed at persons who are at higher risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other sexually- transmitted disease.

PAHO/WHO Country Representative, Dr. William Adu-Krow, while acknowledging Guyana’s achievements, as alluded to by the Public Health Minister, said in drafting the HIV National Strategic Plan (2021-2025), Guyana should place greater emphasis on case-finding, persons who are diagnosed but are not on ART, and those who are on ART.

He explained that, in the case of case-finding, there is need for increased testing notwithstanding the country’s achievement of the first 90 per cent. In this regard, Dr. Adu-Krow made a case for self-testing. “I think self-testing is a major, major issue. There are some people who travel…outside of the country to have their HIV test done because they didn’t want anybody to know their status, and therefore, implementing self-testing goes a long way but we need to ensure that we have what it takes to make it a success,” the PAHO/WHO Representative reasoned. Greater focus on men is also required, he said. In addressing the failure to capitalise on ART, Dr. Adu-Krow said the Public Health Ministry, with support from all stakeholders, must do all in its power to bring persons living with HIV/AIDS to care, and ensure that they remain on treatment.

Meanwhile, Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) Representative, Dr. Shanti Singh, who also took stock of Guyana’s achievements, said, in moving forward, the country must place greater emphasis on the youth population. Added to that, she said Guyana must embrace, even further, Science and Innovation in its fight to bring down the prevalence of HIV/AIDS.

The Public Health Ministry’s Director of Communicable Diseases, Dr. Nadia Liu, provided an overview of the HIVISION 2020 Performance Evaluation and the groundwork done for the drafting of the new strategic plan. The Public Health Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Colette Adams; Programme Manager of NAPS, Dr. Rhonda Moore; UNAIDS Country Director, Dr. Michael Gboun; and Civil Society Representative, Desiree Edghill were among the other speakers during Tuesday’s launch.