Guyana optimistic about HIV fight

By Svetlana Marshall

As some international donors prepare to withdraw or reduce their financial support for AIDS programmes in the Caribbean, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Shamdeo Persaud said the Health Ministry will depend heavily on the National Assembly to approve funds to keep afloat critical HIV/ AIDS programmes in Guyana.
The United States President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) is currently in its transitional stage, Dr Persaud said in an exclusive interview with Guyana Times International. PEPFAR is designed to preserve the lives of persons suffering from HIV/ AIDS across the globe, with special emphasis on improving the health of women and children.
In Guyana, the programme has made an important shift from direct service delivery to capacity building in its strategic approach.
Reduced budget
While PEPFAR is still operational in the country, it is running on a reduced budget as it transitions from a U. S.-run programme to a Guyana-led initiative. Guyana is grateful for the gigantic steps made in the fight against HIV/ AIDS through the U. S. based programme.
With funding from PEPFAR, Guyana and the U. S. embarked on the Guyana HIV/ AIDS Reduction and Prevention (GHARP) project in 2003 through USAID. GHARP was strategically designed to reduce the spread of the HIV/ AIDS through comprehensive prevention and care programmes, and simultaneously equip health professionals with the requisite skills and tools needed to combat the disease.
Additionally, with GHARP came the implementation of voluntary rganizati and testing (VCT); thereby reaching the needs of persons living in hard-to-reach communities.
More than 70,000 people in Guyana received HIV rganizati and testing through the GHARP initiative.
“Under PEPFAR, we were really able to move our programme for treatment especially, from just a few persons to almost everyone. Now anyone who needs antiretroviral can access it free in Guyana, even if they decide to go to the private hospital,” said the CMO.
He explained that under the donor-funded programme, teams from the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS) were dispatched to outlying regions to offer their services. “But over the years what we have done, through a mentorship programme we have gone in to training local staff, doctors, nurses, community health workers within many of the regions, right now they are the ones who are taking over the management of many of the cases.”
He added, “The laboratory capacity was enormously enhanced. PEPFAR helped Guyana in building the National Public Health Reference Laboratory at GPHC [Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation].”
Due to the current transition, the day-to-day operations of the National Public Health Reference Laboratory now fall under the ambit of the Health Ministry.
With the launch of GHARP II in 2009, the focus shifted to risk reduction. In the area of risk prevention, Dr Persaud said the Health Ministry continues to improve its efficiency in the area of prevention.
He explained that the ministry will continue the push to prevent mother-to-child transition and simultaneously promote its Safe Injection Programme and responsible sexual activity. He noted that the prevention of mother-to-child transition remains high on the ministry’s agenda to ensure that unborn babies are not infected by their mothers.
Right procedures
“So you have to test, retest, ensure that the right procedures are in place, correct treatments are given at the right time, ensure that the delivery process is done in such a way that the child is not exposed,” the CMO explained.
He added that the ministry continues to work with health professionals in particular to prevent the transmission of HIV through blood, blood products, and injections.
However, Dr Persaud said there are indications that the Health Ministry will receive funding from the Global Fund. The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO); the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF); Clinton Foundation; and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFP) continue to offer technical and financial support.
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is also among international rganizations that have offered financial support for Guyana’s fight against HIV/ AIDS.