GUYANA, through the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS), has been rolling out programmes and initiatives aimed at eliminating HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

As efforts continue, Guyana will join the rest of the world in observing World AIDS Day 2024 on December 1, and has planned several activities for the occasion, based on the theme, “Take the rights path”.

The NAPS will be hosting a conference on HIV/AIDS for healthcare workers today at the Police Training Centre. Medical services will also be available for healthcare workers, and there will be testing services for members of the Joint Services. The Flame and Ribbon is also among the list of activities.
The final activity will be the World AIDS Day Walk tomorrow in partnership with the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA).
NAPS Programme Manager Dr. Tariq Jagnarine, in a recent edition of “Health Matters” hosted by the Ministry of Health, stated that one of the organisation’s paramount and priority areas is ensuring that the human rights of persons living with HIV and AIDS are protected.

He said: “Not just recently, our national strategic plan, HIVison 2025, has a whole section that speaks on human rights, and so we’ve been going to places and speaking about human rights issues, speaking about stigma, speaking about discrimination, to many workplaces, working with the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Defense Force, working with men, working with youths, working with workplaces.”

The NAPS head stated that most of the work done for 2024 by NAPS is streamlined around this year’s theme. He shared that NAPS was focused on trying to take services to communities and to ensure that the service persons receive is patient-centred.

He said that in its efforts to eliminate HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among Guyanese, particularly those most vulnerable to contracting HIV/AIDS, NAPS has launched a series of initiatives aimed at increasing awareness and promoting sexual health through tailored prevention services.

With the implementation of differentiated services, NAPS aims to raise awareness about sexual health and encouraging preventative measures to reduce the risk of infection.

Just over 30,000 persons would have received PrEP (PrEP for sex bag/“lash bag”) for 2024, with around 6,000 persons regularly refilling their PrEPs. The bag includes a free HIV self-testing kit (or oral quick HIV self-testing kit), condoms, lubricants, and educational pamphlets and brochures. Another version of the bag offers PrEP medication, which stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention.

Aside from this, the NAPS also operates a mobile unit for community outreaches throughout the day and night, targeting vulnerable groups. The mobile unit also offers confidential testing services, ensuring privacy and adherence to guidelines.
While highlighting their efforts in eliminating AIDS, NAPS continues to offer screening and testing services for HIC and other forms of STIs (syphilis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C among others).

INCREASE ACCESS

Meanwhile, UNAIDS is urging governments to prioritise rights to increase access to HIV services in the Caribbean.

In a press release, the UN agency said that with 100,000 people living with HIV not accessing life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART), UNAIDS is urging Caribbean leaders to prioritise rights and diagnose, enroll, and retain more people in care.

“UNAIDS notes that there has been steady progress to put more of the 340,000 people living with HIV in care and on treatment, but the pace is concerningly slow.

“In the Caribbean, only seven in every ten people living with HIV are on treatment and only six in every ten are virally suppressed. Additionally, with one in every three cases of HIV identified at the stage of advanced HIV disease (AIDS), late diagnosis remains a significant challenge in the region,” the agency said.

Noting that stigma and discrimination, harmful laws and policies and operational issues are among the plethora of challenges that keep people living with HIV away from health services, UNAIDS called on health officials to work closely with communities to close the gaps.

“Therefore, as the region prepares to commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1, under the theme Take the Rights Path, it is important governments recognise that without urgent attention to these critical areas, the Caribbean will not achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.3 to end the AIDS epidemic,” the release said.

“I urge Governments and all stakeholders to embrace the rights path. Let us dismantle barriers, promote innovative health solutions, and sustain investments in resilient health systems. Together, through collective action and a commitment to human rights, we can achieve an HIV-free Caribbean,” said Dr Richard Amenyah, UNAIDS Caribbean Director was quoted as saying.

Further, the press release said that UNAIDS firmly believes the Caribbean can end the AIDS epidemic if leaders revolutionise and scale up prevention and treatment access as well as protect and promote the rights of everyone living with and at risk of HIV.

“Health is a human right. Protecting human rights is therefore non-negotiable in the fight against HIV. Laws and policies must be aligned with public health goals and must foster inclusion rather than exclusion. Self-stigma and fear of discrimination or disclosure of HIV status prevent people from seeking HIV services which results in late start of treatment or being lost to follow up and retention on treatment. Caribbean Governments must tackle discrimination that continue to deter people from accessing HIV testing, treatment, and care,’’ Amenyah said.