Five persons living with HIV were awarded house lots from the Ministry of Housing and Water yesterday through a lottery that comes with the bonus of a home.
As part of the requirements, infected persons entered into the lottery had to have been patients at public clinics across the country; between the ages of 25 and 35 years and have between two and six children.
The winning numbers were drawn on the eve of World AIDS Day, which is being observed today and was a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Housing and Water; the Ministry of Health and Habitat for Humanity, among other agencies.
Habitat for Humanity has committed to building the five homes, and in addition Food for the Poor and the World Bank have pledged assistance to the project.
The winning numbers drawn yesterday were DMF1040864; CAMOT110681F; GUMEH201270F; GUMDJ090670F and MHND07111974F.
Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy yesterday referred to the lottery draw as a milestone event in terms of the local HIV response. He said it is possible because of the multi-sectoral approach to HIV in the country, adding that the lottery might be the first of its kind in the region.
Ramsammy noted that many ministries here, which are part of the collaborative HIV effort are no longer playing stand-by roles but are instead taking ownership of their respective programmes.
“I read about things happening in other ministries with respect to HIV and I am pleased because in the past everything they did went through our ministry. This shows that we have truly integrated,” Ramsammy added.
Harrinarine Nawbatt, Minster of Housing and Water, remarked that his ministry was ready and willing to take up a leading role in the project when it was first conceptualized.
He added that for many months now they have been working in the area of HIV and have been supporting the wider effort by the Health Ministry.
Also on hand to witness and assist with the drawing were USAID’s Health and Nutrition Officer Julia Roberts, Guyana HIV/AIDS Reduction and Prevention Project Head Kwame Asidu and National AIDS Programme Manager Dr Shanti Singh.
