The Caribbean has made significant strides in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS in pursuit of the sixth UN Millennium Development Goal particularly in relation to transmission from mother to child.
“In the Caribbean, the percentage infected babies to HIV positive mothers has come down to as low as 1 percent,” Dr Rudolph Cummings, the Programme Manager for Caricom’s Health Sector Development, told Stabroek News.
“There is a need for mothers to maintain their treatment as it prevents future infection and reduces resistance to the drugs,” he added.
He noted that up to 17 percent of women have repeat pregnancies and Caricom’s initiatives needed to focus on sustaining mothers on Highly Active Antiretroviral Treatment (HAART).
He also told Stabroek News that the strategy has been “antenatal testing of all women in early pregnancy, first visit to clinic.” Dr Cummings noted that mothers with almost undetectable viral loads are less likely to transit HIV to their unborn children.
Meanwhile, Caricom’s Director of Sustainable Development Garfield Barnwell stated that his information is that the widespread use of ARVs (antiretrovirals) has been “the single most important feature” of the region’s prevention efforts these days.
Barnwell noted the region’s ability to effectively reach and treat over 50 percent of all persons living with HIV/AIDs.
He noted that Guyana’s former Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy was one of the “stalwarts” responsible for the strong lobbying by Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (Pancap), which eventually saw ARVs reduced from US$12,000 yearly to almost US$1,000. He said that the Pancap tirelessly worked with international pharmaceutical companies so ARVs could be accessed in the developing world. He said that the HIV/AIDs epidemic threatened the region and almost decimated the “productive human resource” within Guyana and the Caribbean Community.
Barnwell emphasised that ARV access was “pivotal” in reducing mortality rates and ensuring that HIV/AIDs was not a death sentence. He said that the focus now has to be on reducing stigma as “the lack of equal access to prevention, care and treatment has been of concern”. He noted that Pancap has been increasing its use of anti-stigma toolkits in various educational programmes.
He also stated that tackling the HIV/AIDs prevalence in migrant populations across the region was necessary to effectively continue managing the spread of the disease.
At the Bi-National Commission meeting between Guyana and Suriname on Friday last, Barnwell stated that the commission could be a pilot project on how to effectively tackle the disease in areas with high migrant populations and unregistered movement of people due to porous borders.
He stated that public health initiatives had to have cross-border appeal and that countries in region by working together could make it possible to effectively manage HIV/AIDs through the sharing of information.
