UNAIDS Regional Director Urges Jamaica to Address HIV Response Gap

From left, UNAIDS Regional Director Dr. Richard N. Amenia. Retention in Care, Best Viral Suppression and North Star Award winner Dr. Peter Swaby. and Health His Connect His Jamaican Director Dr. Jeffrey Barrow shared a light moment after the awards ceremony at his AC Hotel in Kingston, New York last Saturday. (Photo: Naphtali Jr.)

Dr. Richard N. Amenya, Regional Director of the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), urges the Jamaican government, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to do their best to assess and address gaps in Jamaica’s HIV response. I am asking you to do so. Created to improve community care.

Speaking at the inaugural Health Connect Jamaica (HCJ) dinner and awards ceremony recently held at the AC Marriott Hotel in New Kingston, Dr Amenya praised the Jamaican government’s longstanding response to HIV/AIDS, but the asked for more practical efforts to HIV epidemic.

“People who live today [with HIV] Excited, those who gave testimony said they had a life to live because of you. We need to celebrate… I know what it is when there is a community to destroy HIV… When the world comes together there is nothing we cannot do. When we stand together and the world stands together against one disease, AIDS, we can change this world. We need more practitioners to achieve this and to do this effectively and efficiently.

“Take a look at our roles collectively. Why are there still gaps in our HIV response? The Global AIDS Strategy tells us that inequality and inequity are our greatest challenges. We can’t reach out to the people… Honor the doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists and other health care providers and be proud of yourself when you listen to your patients. You act above and beyond your call of duty, are compassionate and dedicated to your work. Patients say you have been helpful, you are accessible and when you have. What matters is quality care,” said Dr. Amenia.

The UNAIDS Regional Director further encouraged governments to continue devoting resources to the HIV response, citing global and regional statistics showing that the task would be more difficult without government support.

In fiscal year 2022/23, the government is spending $1 billion on national HIV/AIDS response projects in Jamaica.

“One person dies of AIDS every minute. Imagine how many people died in an hour. Every two minutes a young woman is infected with HIV. As I speak today, 28 million 28 million are alive and if you didn’t roll up your sleeves and play your role as a donor, you would be dead without global help. You are life changing and this is why I say you have a job,” said Dr. Amenia.

“We are eight years away from reaching the UN’s goal. UNAIDS released its Global AIDS Report in Montreal. See? This report shows that the global AIDS response is failing: In the Caribbean, 92,000 people are on treatment or waiting to be diagnosed. In Jamaica, about 15,000 people are still without treatment. As I speak, about 5.4 million people in South Africa are on treatment. Just think about it. In most African countries the government did not pay the Global Fund, it’s PEPFAR [United States President Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief]So we say that if other people pay you and the government doesn’t pay you, the HIV response is unsustainable.”

Meanwhile, Professor Minerva Tham, Dean of the School of Medicine, University of the West Indies (UWI), was Mona, who spoke on behalf of UWI, and Mona’s principal professor, Dale Webber, shared two of the HCJ’s achievements. He describes the main areas as follows: Some of the great satisfactions of UWI include reaching underserved communities and island-wide coverage.

“Health Connect Jamaica is adept at reaching underserved communities and people living with HIV, who we ultimately have the opportunity to connect with in a better way. An underrepresented community, the implementation of online risk assessment and private doctor appointments has removed the fear of many clients who are hesitant to access HIV services.HCJ is committed to removing this stigma and discrimination and We continue to create opportunities by equalizing opportunities for people living with HIV to lead normal lives, both mentally and physically.

She added: It would be even more satisfying for UWI to be able to implement this project locally in other countries where UWI has left its mark. I encourage partners to evaluate the feasibility of doing this. ”

Network Director Dr. Geoffrey Barrow emphasized the reasoning behind the initiative, stating, “HCJ is committed to responding to the rapid expansion of access to the treatment needed to control the HIV epidemic in Jamaica. Developed as a.If you want to see engagement, retention and quality, this is important, so choose where you want to access medical services.”

Barrow also says the network has achieved exponential growth since its inception, continuing to double the number of clients it serves each year. [HCJ and its partners] We truly understand the need to continuously scale up HIV treatment and care. ”

Hosted under the theme of ‘Celebrating Innovation and Achievements’, the dinner and award ceremony will highlight the network’s success in Jamaica, providing rapid, private and affordable access to HIV treatment and care services. acknowledged the stakeholders who worked for

Health Connect Jamaica (HCJ), an initiative developed through a 2019 partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and The UWI, Mona School of Medicine (FMS), has significantly expanded access in just two years of operation. did. to HIV treatment and care services through the Jamaican private sector.