|
—‘Call for Submissions’ issued to potential attendeesThe Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is expected to gain some much needed public attention when the Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), spearheads a stakeholders’ forum.Minister of Public Health, Dr George NortonThe proposed forum,cheap jerseys nfl wholesale, which is being dubbed a ‘National Dialogue on HIV and the Law’, will however follow on the heels of written submissions from stakeholders on issues relating to HIV.Yesterday the UNDP in an official release disseminated a ‘Call for submissions’.The submissions are expected to be premised on a number of thematic areas including Sexual orientation and gender identity; Sex work; Prisons and detention centres; Violence against women or gender-based violence; Children and adolescents in residential homes/orphanages; People with disabilities; Indigenous populations; Migrant and mobile populations; Discrimination in social and health services; Uniformed services and HIV and Access to HIV services and Religion.The proposed national dialogue will take the form of a meeting for a range of stakeholders – primarily from government and civil society – where they can share their insights and experiences on HIV, Law and Human Rights.“It is a policy space where those who influence, write and enforce laws, and those whose lives are impacted by them, engage in constructive, frank and pragmatic dialogue,” according to information from the UNDP.It went on to state that the national dialogue may address all legal and human rights issues related to HIV and AIDS in the country,cheap nfl jerseys china, or it may focus on a more limited number of priority issues.Members of civil society desirous of participating in the national dialogue are encouraged to make written submissions on the themes mentioned earlier. The deadline for the submissions is Friday November 20, 2015 and must be addressed to the National Advisory Committee on HIV and the Law c/o the National AIDS Programme Secretariat, Hadfield Street and College Road, Wortmanville, Georgetown.Persons can also make their submissions by way of email to [email protected]Plans for the national dialogue come at a time when concerns are being raised about the HIV situation in the local penitentiary system. Minister of Public Health,cheap nfl jerseys, Dr George Norton, while making a presentation in Geneva last week at the UNAIDS 37th Programme Coordinating Board said, “I wish to state in advance that I am in full support of accelerating an increased access to HIV prevention,wholesale jerseys china, treatment and care services for people in prisons and other closed settings.”In fact he asserted, “While we are all aware of the risk for HIV in prisons and closed settings, our response in many ways have been lagging and therefore the time is opportune that we prioritise this population.”“In my own country,cheap nfl jerseys online, the prison population has an HIV prevalence of at least two times higher than that of the general population. While this may be the case in many other places,jerseys nfl wholesale, depending on how we see and approach this issue, these types of settings could present as ideal environments for HIV services.For example,wholesale jerseys, prisoners who are HIV positive and on treatment could be monitored through Direct Observed Therapy (DOT),” disclosed this Minister.He continued,wholeslae cheap nfl jerseys china, “There are many challenges in rolling out programmes in these settings. In the majority of the cases, persons are ill prepared to exit and therefore ill prepared to integrate into their communities and society. Further, the lack of knowledge and discontinuation of Anti Retroviral Treatment (ARV) is also a major contributing factor in the high rates of HIV in these systems.”But in order for an impact to be made, Minister Norton added that the issue must be tackled at all levels, including at the policy stage.“This means therefore, that at the national level there has to be willingness and openness of all stakeholders to collaborate and share information as possible. There has to be leadership from line Ministries such as Ministries of Security. Indeed, this brings to bear the concept of health in all policies.”But there have yet been significant gains made in the fight against HIV so much so that the Minister of Public Health has his eyes set on Guyana eliminating mother-to-child transmission of the virus altogether.The Minister is adamant that if Cuba (which attained this status earlier this year) can do it, Guyana can too. “We recognise them (Cuba) for what they have done and there are many things that might have gone in their favour or might be in their favour, but we take away no credit and laud Cuba for being the first country in the world to have achieved that,” said the Minister. Guyana is poised for a similar achievement, he added.But a challenge faced by Guyana to attain this ambitious goal is that unlike Cuba’s island setting, Guyana’s borders are porous.“We are surrounded by countries that we really have no control over and persons traverse frequently,” said the Public Health Minister, as he admitted that eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV “would be a difficult thing to do; regardless of that we should try to gain that status like Cuba has done.”Guyana has seen a decline in the mother-to-child transmission of HIV from 5.8 percent in 2010 to less than one percent today. “Congratulations are in order,” said the Minister as he disclosed that this development was made possible through a number of efforts, including the early identification and screening of mothers and infants with HIV; use of DNA/PCR testing in infants as early as six weeks, and the use of anti-retroviral drugs. The Minister also lauded the vigilance of his Ministry’s Maternal and Child Health programme. |
|