Caribbean360: Four cases of HIV in T&T a day

Four cases of HIV in T&T a day
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Chris Hoyos on 08/06/2011 10:57:00
 
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Wednesday June 8, 2011 – Statistics provided by
public health institutions show that, on average, there are at least four new
cases of HIV infection in Trinidad and Tobago every day.
Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Rodger Samuel, speaking ahead of
the twin-island republic’s participation in the UNAIDS High Level Meeting in
New York starting today, said that as of March there were more than 25,000
people living with AIDS in the country.
But of that number, he said, only 6,000 are accessing anti-retroviral drugs even
though the treatment is readily available.
None of those figures, though, include results from tests in private
institutions.
On a positive note though, Samuel said, Trinidad’s sister isle Tobago has had
some major success in preventing mother-to-child transmission.
“They have brought the infection rate down to zero,” he said.
There are also other efforts ongoing in Tobago to help stem the spread of
HIV/AIDS.
A pilot of Health and Family Life Education (HFLE) has been introduced in some
schools there and is currently being reviewed to examine its effectiveness and
determine if it could be expanded to all others.
Meantime, Minister Samuel said that draft legislation to deal with the
establishment of the statutory body on HIV/AIDS and the reformation of the
National Aids Coordinating Committee (NACC), is now at the Office of the
Attorney General.
In the interim, he said, the Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Health,
Ministry of Labour, the Tobago AIDS Committee and the US-funded President's
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) project are all working together to
ensure there are no lapses in the gains made.
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