Guyana joined the rest of the world today in observing World AIDS Day, and Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony has pleaded with persons “at risk” of contracting HIV to get tested, and to seek the required treatment if necessary.

Guyana has recorded 449 new cases of HIV in the past year. In total, there are more than 10,000 HIV affected persons living in the country.

There is a concern, however, that some cases are not recorded due to failure, by some to get tested.   

“People who feel that they are at risk, they should come forth and get their testing done, and if they are afraid to come to one of our clinics because that is normally one of the challenges that you have, people don’t want to come to the clinic because they feel somebody is going to see them, and what they’re going to think of them, then you could get one of these self-testing kits and test yourself at home. The key thing here is that you must know your status,” the Minister Anthony said.

Minister Anthony, at the time, was speaking at a World AIDS Day Conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Friday.

He said Guyana has made significant strides in its fight to combat HIV/AIDs, investing in treatment, including ARVS – antiretroviral – the drugs used to treat and prevent HIV infection. He said treatment is readily available for those infected.

 “If you are negative then you should embrace a behavior pattern that keeps you negative. And if you are positive, you don’t have to wait. Come into one of the clinics so that they could start treatments. And that’s a very important thing,” he said.

The Health Minister said by consistently taking ART, the deceased can become suppressed, meaning, the viral load could be so low that it becomes undetectable.

“Virally suppressed, what does that mean? It means that the virus that is in you, once you are using the medication, we probably would not be able to detect it because it is very low in your system, to put it very simply. And, if you are virally suppressed, it means that you would not be able to transmit that virus from yourself to your partner. So, that is why it is important that you get treatment,” Minister Anthony explained.

However, he emphasized that the treatment regimen must be followed.

Minister Anthony said tools to prevent, detect and treat HIV are available, and Guyanese must do more to protect themselves, and if necessary, get treatment. He said if the disease is suppressed by 2030, Guyana could be well on its way to eliminating the disease as a public health threat.

Globally, there are 40.8 million people living with HIV, while in the Caribbean, there are more than 340,000 persons living with HIV.

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