Guyanese Health Ministry to provide $450,000 for HIV/AIDS programs

The Guyanese Ministry of Health on Tuesday announced it will provide $450,000 to 16 nongovernmental organizations to conduct HIV/AIDS programs nationwide, the Stabroek News reports.

The funding will be provided through the health ministry's HIV/AIDS prevention and control project. Health Minister Leslie Ramsammy urged the NGOs -- which include the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination, Spectrum Health Net and the Art of Living Foundation -- to execute their projects in a timely and organized manner (Seales, Stabroek News, 1/25).

In related news, Guyana's Government Information Agency on Tuesday announced that the number of HIV-positive people accessing antiretroviral treatment at clinics nationwide has increased since the end of 2005, the Caribbean Media Corporation reports (Caribbean Media Corporation, 1/24).

Eight public health clinics in six of the country's regions by the end of 2005 were providing access to antiretrovirals, following the establishment in 2002 of the first treatment clinic in the capital, Georgetown, according to Stabroek News.

In addition, GINA announced that the government plans to provide 80% of HIV-positive pregnant women in the country with treatment access through a program aimed at preventing vertical HIV transmission.

GINA on Wednesday also announced that the government has provided almost 11,000 HIV-positive people with access to treatment through a clinic in the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

According to GINA, the government in conjunction with CDC and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief remodeled the clinic in June 2006 to increase its treatment capacity.

The New Guyana Pharmaceutical Company with PEPFAR funding is producing antiretrovirals that the government makes available at no cost to all HIV-positive people in the country, GINA said, adding that Guyana plans to further expand prevention, treatment and care initiatives (Stabroek News, 1/24).