94 per cent of HIV patients know their status, 72 per cent on treatment

– more needs to be done to close the gap  

Some 94 per cent of persons living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Guyana are aware of their status, but only 72 per cent of those are on treatment.

Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, emphasised on Tuesday that more will soon be done to address the key population that continues to bear the disproportionate burden of HIV infection.

He made the statement during the National Judges’ Forum on HIV, Human Rights and the Law, at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown.

The health minister stated that more forums will be held to discuss better strategies to help these persons.

According to him, there is a great discrepancy between persons who know their status and those who are on Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART).

ART is the treatment of people infected with HIV using anti-HIV drugs. According to the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), the standard treatment consists of a combination of drugs (often called “highly active antiretroviral therapy” or HAART) that suppress HIV replication.

“In Guyana, we have 94 per cent of the persons living with HIV knowing their status. But of those who know their status 72 per cent are on treatment. And of those who are on treatment, 87 per cent are virally suppressed,” the health minister disclosed.

Highlighting that ART is available for free at various clinics, Minister Anthony pointed out that one of the main issues for the gap is due to the stigma and discrimination that is attached to HIV.

Meanwhile, Minister Anthony explained that “One of the things that we are doing right now to address this problem is to make sure we can offer care at any health centre…We are training primary healthcare physicians to be able to offer this type of care.”

If these persons have complications, the minister advised the healthcare physicians to refer them to the more specialised clinics for advanced treatment.

Turning his attention to the Caribbean’s statistics, Dr Anthony recounted that the prevalence of HIV in the Caribbean was at 1.2 per cent at the end of 2023.

The prevalence was shown among key populations such as transgender individuals which was recorded as 39.4 per cent. “For men who have sex with men, it was 11.8 per cent. For people in prison, it was at 3.6 per cent, and among sex workers, it was at 2.6 per cent,” Dr Anthony recounted.