Guyana lauded for progress in HIV/AIDS fight

As the countdown to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) continues, Guyana is being lauded for its remarkable progress in fighting HIV/AIDS.
Guyana/Suriname United Nations HIV/AIDS programme coordinator, Dr Roberto Luiz Brant Campos, said Guyana is on track for the achievement of goal six of the MDGs, which seeks to combat HIV/AIDS by 2015.
He pointed to the outstanding feat of Guyana in decreasing its HIV prevalence in pregnant women in the last 10 years from 2.6 to 0.9 per cent. This was achieved through the ‘prevention of mother-to-child transmission’ programme, which has received accolades internationally and is now being used as a best practice in many countries.
The UNAIDS representative also lauded the fact that access to HIV/AIDS treatment is now readily available to 80 per cent of the population in need.
Guyana has also seen a steady decrease of HIV/AIDS cases from 2006. According to the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS), the number of reported HIV/AIDS cases in Guyana has been reduced to one per cent of the total population, complying with the UNAIDS target of 1.3 per cent.
Guyana is currently pursuing a trajectory of eliminating HIV/AIDS by 2020, as outlined in its strategic plan. Health officials in Guyana said the country is on a path to achieving a collective goal of having zero new infections, zero stigma and discrimination, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero mother-to-child transmission by 2020.
Government said this progress in part has resulted from strong political will and commitment, and a willingness to frontally address social and cultural norms that serve as a driver of the HIV epidemic.
In terms of AIDS cases, Guyana recorded an average of about 500 cases annually up to 2003. In 2011, this dropped to 40 new AIDS cases. In 2002, AIDS-related deaths accounted for 9.5 per cent of all deaths. This was reduced to 4.7 per cent by the end of 2008. Presently, more than 3500 persons are in Guyana’s HIV/ AIDS treatment programme and are being treated with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs).
Another 1500 persons are being managed, although they have not yet been recommended by their physicians to start ARV treatment. At the end of 2011, approximately 300 persons were being treated with second line ARVs. In addition, close to 1200 persons are receiving treatment and care through an innovative home-based care programme in Guyana. Youth, women of childbearing age, commercial sex workers, mobile populations such as miners and loggers, and men-who-have-sex-with men have been identified as among those most at risk of contracting HIV in Guyana.