(Jamaica Observer) The United States Government has committed US$3.8 million from its worldwide fund of US$7 billion to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in Jamaica for 2011, US Ambassador Pamela Bridgewater announced on Thursday.
The money is allocated under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which the ambassador said is “the largest commitment of any nation” to fighting HIV/AIDS. PEPFAR was launched in 2003 by then US President George W Bush.
Ambassador Bridgewater, in making the announcement at a function to commemorate World AIDS Day at the United States Embassy in Kingston, emphasised the importance of reducing stigma against most at-risk populations, which experts say drives the number of persons living with HIV in Jamaica underground.
The US ambassador said in Jamaica most of the focus was placed on reducing stigma against at-risk populations, counselling, education, the provision of HIV tests and medication. She said a number of small grants have been made to local organisations from a part of PEPFAR administered by her office, particularly to address stigma and discrimination against HIV/AIDS. “We won’t be successful in our efforts without focusing on stigma and discrimination,” she said.
Recent grantees from the ambassador’s HIV Prevention Programme are ‘quick impact’ and community-based projects, including Jamaica AIDS Support for Life, the Women’s Resource & Outreach Centre, St Patrick’s Foundation, Eve for Life Jamaica, the Jamaica Red Cross and Children First.
According to UNAIDS estimates, Jamaica is one of the more heavily affected countries in the Caribbean, with an estimated HIV prevalence rate of 1.7 per cent or 32,000 persons living with the virus.
However, much higher rates of HIV are found among most at-risk populations — men who have sex with men at 31.8 per cent, and sex workers at 4.9 per cent, based on 2008 figures from the Ministry of Health.
In the meantime, Health Minister Rudyard Spencer said on Thursday that the draft submissions to amend the Public Health Order to remove discriminatory provisions relating to HIV/AIDS has been completed and submitted for review.
The minister was speaking at a World AIDS Day Leadership Breakfast at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston, one of several activities planned to commemorate World AIDS Day.
“Those amendments represent a clear and practical demonstration of this Government’s commitment to address stigma and discrimination against persons infected and affected by HIV and AIDS,” Spencer said.
