THE Guyana National HIV Prevention Principles, Standards and Guidelines will be made public today and Manager of the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS), Dr. Shanti Singh said the concept is based on combined prevention.
“The response to HIV/AIDS must be multi-sectoral. Combined prevention emphasises the fact that no one strategy can work. The document is important in that it bolsters coordination of prevention,” she said yesterday, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle.
The documentation also outlines five basic principles which say that, in Guyana:
* HIV prevention is multi-sectoral, multi-dimensional, aligned with one national programme of a scope and mix that is effective, at an intensity that is sustained and of a scale to reach and impact everyone;
* HIV prevention is based on and driven by the promotion, protection and respect for human rights, diversity, gender equality and addresses the most vulnerable and the drivers of the epidemic, with priority and special consideration;
* The combination prevention of HIV is devoid of dogma and is based on science.  It is targeted, focused, evidence based and developed, delivered and maintained at a high level of excellence;
* HIV prevention is locally adapted and prioritised according to epidemiological scenarios and socio-cultural contexts, in partnership with all stakeholders, particularly those for whom programmes are developed and implemented, and
* The delivery of HIV prevention activities is informed by continuous research and development of innovative prevention technologies.
According to Singh, what is defined in the document forms the basis of all efforts aimed at responding to HIV/AIDS.
“This document seeks to align all prevention efforts to the National Strategic Plan. It assists in ensuring that intensified efforts reach all Guyanese and are done on a sustained basis,” she elaborated.
Singh said combined prevention is a key factor in all response programmes and to prevent HIV among young persons, for example, cannot be addressed through education alone but must be a combination of activities.

A MUST
“If we are to go forward, combination prevention is a must,” she emphasized, acknowledging that, with several organisations undertaking HIV/AIDS response actions,  the risk of reinventing the wheel exists.
“With so many prevention efforts, we can get carried away but we must recognise that prevention must be planned a strategic way,” she maintained.
Singh said a score card that must be used by any stakeholder assisting with the response to HIV/AIDS will be part of the Guyana National HIV Prevention Principles, Standards and Guidelines that will be released today.
She explained that it is a tool for HIV prevention makers, service providers, users and clients of prevention services, among others and it underlines the importance of both biological and behavioural factors associated with HIV transmission and the social and structural factors which can aid or impede the success of HIV prevention programming.
“Stakeholders have to use the score card and submit it to the National Prevention Reference Group, based at NAPS, to not only avoid reinventing the wheel but also to ensure that they have a good plan,” Singh advised.
She pointed to the need for coordination of results in the optimisation of resources to receive the maximum benefit.
“No one element in the document is more important than the other. They are all linked. The entire document is very important because it is aimed at promoting stronger prevention programmes,” Singh maintained.
According to her, from this point, elimination of the HIV/AIDS scourge will only be a step away.
She said preparation of what is to be released today began in 2009 and it is not just a document to gather dust on shelves but for use to revamp the HIV/AIDS response efforts.