A huge step was taken in the race to eliminate HIV in Guyana by 2020, when the United Nations (UN) launched a multi-million-dollar joint programme yesterday to assist the local fight – a move the Ministry of Health deemed necessary if the deadly virus is to be eradicated.
The Joint Programme of Support on AIDS (UNJPS) is aligned with the HIVision2020 created by the National AIDS Secretariat (NAPS) in 2013 and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Leslie Cadogan noted that a joint approach is exactly what is needed if HIV is to be eliminated.
“I wish to reiterate that we must always focus and it must be our focus that it is a joint effort,” he said. He added that the epidemic cannot be eliminated without a multi-agency effort. He further called for more persons and agencies to come onboard to tackle the disease.
UNICEF Country Representative Marianne Flach agreed and stated, “It is imperative that we all work together to achieve the results in this and other critical areas if we are to sustain and build on the progress that we have made so far, to improve the health and well-being of children, their families and the nation as a whole.”
UN Resident Coor- dinator Khadija Musa concurred with both assessments and emphasised that community effort is indispensable in the fight against the disease, particularly when it comes to the education of the people. She further said that hard work will continue within the community, civil societies, medical teams and all parties involved.
Despite the major steps being taken to combat HIV, a number of problem areas still exist, particularly stigma and discrimination, Cadogan noted.
Hence, the programme was created to tackle five set target areas. Locally, these areas were aimed at reducing HIV sexual transmission, eliminating HIV new infection among children, avoiding tuberculosis (TB) deaths, accessing treatment and eliminating stigma and discrimination.
To achieve these targets, all seven of Guyana’s UN agencies will mobilise approximately $63 million through the UNJPS and will also provide technical assistance to the national HIV response.
Of this figure, about 51% will be devoted to the reduction of new HIV infection among children, 20% toward the reduction of HIV sexual transmission and 15% toward the reduction of TB deaths. The remaining sum will be allocated to the elimination of stigma and discrimination in Guyana.
In December 2005, a directive was issued to all UN resident coordinators for the immediate implementation of joint UN teams on AIDS along with respective integrated support programmes.
According to Flach, these joint teams align their work with the country’s priorities, strategies and goals and are guided by a document which outlines the operating mechanisms proposed for the teams at country level.
Though this document is a global one, it allowed for flexibility in its implementation due to the diversity of contexts and the differences in capacity of countries.
Aside from the HIVision2020, the UNJPS is also aligned with the United National Develop-ment Assistance Frame-work (UNDAF) 2012-2016 and the UNAIDS Unified Budget, Results and Accountability Framework (UBRAF) 2012-2015. The programme is an attempt to translate these former global directives into a local document mirrored on Guyana’s priorities.
Meanwhile, Musa lauded Guyana’s efforts in the elimination of the HIV epidemic and stated that the country with the UN team has managed an “excellent job” thus far.
“The government played a key role in bringing all of these teams together and working with the goal set up by the government and during this period of implementation a lot has been achieved in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention,” Musa said. She went on, “I think Guyana has to be commended for having a good grip on this effort and ensuring that a new infections do not occur.”
The UNJPS was developed to strengthen the dialogue between the UN agencies and Guyana’s HIV stakeholders.
The programme’s launch comes on the world’s observance of United Nations Day 2014.
