ROADTOWN Tortola BVI, October 18th, 2012 - Clinicians and other health professionals now have national protocols to guide their treatment of patients with HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases and infections, following the introduction of the policies by the Ministry of Health and Social Development, in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).
Speaking with the Department of Information and Public Relations, National AIDS Programme Coordinator, Mrs. Noelene Levons Clarke stated, “We are pleased to announce the completion of the Virgin Islands National Policies and Protocols on the Management of HIV/AIDS and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), and that it is ready for use in the health care sector.”
The National Policies are a set of guidelines which standardise the care and treatment of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections in the Territory. It includes guiding principles on HIV Counselling and Testing; Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission; Post Exposure HIV Prevention; Contact Tracing; and STI Management, Monitoring and Evaluation. The document harnesses updated HIV clinical guidelines from the World Health Organisation and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
“I am truly pleased to see the strides made by the Virgin Islands health sector. Since development of the guidelines, the document has been shared with National AIDS Programmes in the British and Dutch Overseas Territories for adaptation.’ said Mrs. Clarke.
The National AIDS Programme Coordinator added, “It is imperative that we reach the stage of ensuring consistency of care based on international standards and guidelines. Furthermore, with training sessions planned over the next year it is expected that clinicians will have a sound understanding of the National Policies and will use them to provide an improved quality of care for persons living with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases”.
Developed over a 30 month period, the National Policies utilised the expertise of a multi-disciplinary technical working group of health professionals from the Virgin Islands’ public and private health sectors.
The working group was lead by Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) Technical Advisor Dr. Noreen Jack, PAHO HIV/STI Project Manager, Ms. Sandra Jones and Chief Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health and Social Development, Dr. Irad Potter.
Printed by PAHO the document will be distributed to all health care providers in the Territory. It will also be used in the upcoming Provider Initiated Testing and Counselling Training for health care providers to be held on November 21 and 22.
The National AIDS Programme in the Ministry of Health and Social Development functions as the HIV/AIDS focal point for the Virgin Islands and collaborates with local, regional and international agencies to mitigate the socio-economic impacts of HIV/AIDS.
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