Ghana-born Dr Richard Amenyah, the United Nations/Multicountry Director of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (UN/AIDS), lamented that the world was about “$8 billion short in its fight against HIV/AIDS “.
“We must stop the 38 people who become infected with HIV every day in the Caribbean, the 16 people who die every day in the Caribbean and the 92,000 Caribbean people who are waiting to be diagnosed or access HIV treatment,” said Amenyah, who it is. based in Jamaica.
He was speaking at yesterday’s opening session of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) Regional Joint Dialogue among key stakeholders and partners, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Wrightson Road, Port of Spain. The symposium ends tomorrow.
Amenyah said there was a need for more accurate and comprehensive data collection and more attention should be paid to children.
The consensus among the panel of speakers was the need for improved cooperation to end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. In the wake of Covid-19, stakeholders feared that the significant gains achieved in the pre-pandemic era they might have been canceled due to the onslaught of the pandemic.
Eliminating mother-to-child transmission, as well as free anti-retroviral drugs, were two major achievements in the war.
Regarding the need to replenish the Global Fund, Amenyah said: “We are $8 billion short, there is a 57 percent reduction in bilateral funding (excluding the United States) over the last decade and due to Covid-19, and other reasons, domestic resources have declined over the past two years. The human cost of this is unimaginable—a person living with AIDS dies every minute, and every two minutes a young girl becomes infected with HIV.
“The Global Fund must be fully funded and US$8 billion must be realized to put the world back on track to achieve the 2025 targets and end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.” . We have eight years to end AIDS as a public health threat,” he added.
He said that Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war had stalled progress.
“However, the global response to HIV is at risk. Progress has stalled and we are off track and experiencing an HIV prevention crisis. This has been attributed to Covid-19, the war in Ukraine and other humanitarian crises, which have shifted the attention of world governments to respond to these threats, leading to fewer resources for the HIV response.
The need for state intervention
Amenyah said there is a need for governments to move quickly to address the disparities and inequities affecting key populations (substance abusers/migrants/prisoners) and People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLHIV), who also face problems in access to services such as psycho-social support.
He said there was a need for whole-of-society action and a whole-of-government approach to have a rights-based, gender-responsive program that meets the needs of key populations, women and girls and PLHIV.
“UNAIDS is calling for collective action in the Caribbean to address human rights and eliminate stigma and discrimination. UNAINDS reaffirms its commitment to protect human rights and LGBTQI rights. We advocate for people-centered protective laws and to put communities at the center of the HIV response. Enforcing protective laws and ensuring decriminalization saves lives and helps realize the economic, social and cultural rights of LGBTQI communities,” said Amenyah.
