94 per cent of persons living with HIV aware of status
Programme Manager at the National Aids Programme Secretariat (NAPS), Dr. Tariq Jagnarine (Adrian Narine photo)
Programme Manager at the National Aids Programme Secretariat (NAPS), Dr. Tariq Jagnarine (Adrian Narine photo)

–total cases surpass 9,000, with new infections totaling 71 this year

EVEN as the fight against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) rages on, Guyana has managed to stay one step ahead of the global epidemic by investing in systems that have allowed 94 per cent of the persons living with the virus to know their status.

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, said that while the government has made significant strides in the fight against HIV, it intends to eradicate the scourge completely and bring the number of new cases recorded yearly to zero.

Speaking during a World Aids Day ceremony on Wedsesday, Dr. Anthony said more work is needed in the area of detection and enrollment of persons to receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and a higher viral suppression rate.

Guyana’s focus is aligned with the United Nations (UN) 90-90-90 treatment for all initiative, which was implemented to help end the aids epidemic.

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony (DPI photo)

The main goals of this initiative are ensuring that 90 per cent of all people living with HIV know their status, 90 per cent of all people diagnosed with HIV receive sustained antiretroviral therapy, and that 90 per cent of all persons receiving antiretroviral therapy have viral suppression.

“We believe that while the UN has set these targets for 90-90-90 by 2025 that we can get past that despite COVID-19 and we could work to end aids by 2030. Now, this has been a dream for a lot of people for a long time, but if we stay on track and if we work hard, we can be able to do that and that’s what we have to set our sights on,” Dr. Anthony said.

Minister Anthony said that over the past year, officials from the Ministry of Health have been working on a strategic plan which will be utilised over the next five years to “end AIDs” by 2030.

He said that in 2022, the government will embark on a public education campaign to equip Guyanese with the necessary information for protection against HIV, as well as eradicate the stigma associated with the virus.
He said that the government will ensure that schools are also targeted during this public education campaign.

Minister Anthony further said that the government intends to ramp up its newly instituted self-testing resources to cater to those persons who wish to get tested but would rather do it under more discrete circumstances.
The self-testing system which was implemented in 2021 allows persons to purchase self-testing kits and conduct at-home HIV tests, after which they can utilise their results to seek medical help if necessary.

US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch (DPI photo)

Programme Manager at the National Aids Programme Secretariat (NAPS), Dr. Tariq Jagnarine, said that there are currently 9,022 cases of HIV locally, with 71 of those being detected this year.
MARGINAL REDUCTION

Dr. Jagnarine said that the 2021 statistics show a “marginal reduction” in the total number of positive HIV cases.
And while 94 per cent of people living with HIV are aware of their HIV status, the doctor said that 74 per cent of those persons are receiving antiretroviral treatment with about 82 per cent of persons receiving treatment being virally suppressed.

Viral suppression is defined as suppressing or reducing the function and replication of a virus; this means persons living with HIV that are virally suppressed have a lower chance of spreading the virus to other persons, as well as a better chance to fight the virus.

Also on this topic, Dr. Anthony said that there are plans to maximise the use of the PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) medicine which people who are at risk for HIV take to prevent getting HIV from sex or injection drug use. This, he said, would target key populations including but not limited to LGBT+ persons.

“On the prevention side, our traditional way of preventing infections of HIV would have been through condoms and so forth, but now we are adding to this arsenal of things that we can do to prevent infections so that we can reduce from that 72 right down to 0… and if we can achieve that then we are on our way to making sure that we can end AIDs,” Dr. Anthony said.

COVID AND HIV
Minister Anthony related that even though the government is taking steps to achieve its goal of zero cases of HIV in Guyana, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the way treatment was done.
He said that with services being temporarily closed at the beginning of the pandemic to minimise face-to-face interactions, there has been a loss of follow-up.

He noted, however, that the government has been working to find those patients, saying: “We need to find them and bring them back into care because without that they are going to end up deteriorating and end up moving from HIV to AIDs, and then it will be more difficult to work with those patients.”

Meanwhile, the Health Minister said that a significant number of persons living with HIV have been hesitant to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Anthony said that there is no medical implications for persons living with HIV taking the COVID-19 vaccine, so he encouraged them to take the necessary steps to get vaccinated. Currently, just 55 per cent of persons living with HIV have been vaccinated.

As Guyana progresses in its fight against HIV, even amidst COVID-19, US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, recommitted her country’s support to the Ministry of Health and other agencies which are waging war against HIV.

The US, since 2004, has provided financial assistance to Guyana totaling US$185 million, to fight the HIV epidemic.

In 2021, the US government as part of its President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) initiative committed US$1.5 million to Guyana’s fight against HIV/AIDs.

“The PEPFAR programme is committed to ensuring that all at-risk populations know their HIV status, and receive lifesaving HIV services and this means focusing on quality, inclusive, and client-centered care, meeting patients where there are with what they need.

“The US government through our PEPFAR programme will continue to work closely with the ministry and civil society partners to ensure funds and programmes are targeting key populations,” Ambassador Lynch said.

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