BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - WITH the aim of this year’s annual World Aids Day 'Getting to zero', with regards to zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths, health officials in St. Kitts and Nevis are reporting that the rate of HIV/AIDS infections in the Federation is on the decline.
In an exclusive interview with SKNVibes, National Aids Programme Coordinator Gardenia Destang-Richardson stated that the infection rated of the virus was decreasing and averages about 10 new cases per year.
“Last year we had 14 new cases but the average is 10 per year. There were years where we would have seen a spike but right now we are seeing an average of nine to 10 cases, so it is right now stabilising.”
She however stated that there have been 384 HIV/AIDS cases in the Federation since 1984 and that the number of deaths caused by the virus is unknown because that information is normally withheld to protect persons’ privacy.
Destang-Richardson called on individuals to take responsibility for their sexual health.
“The message has to be that every individual must take responsibility for their sexual health. You cannot depend on another person and you should be taking responsibility, whether it is getting tested, protecting yourself or abstaining to protect yourself and other persons from getting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.”
She added that the theme for this year’s World AIDS Day observation is “Getting to zero includes me”.
“The rationale behind it is we want to get persons to take ownership of getting to zero new deaths, zero new discrimination and zero mother to child transmission.”
The National AIDS Coordinator also stated that they would be embarking on a campaign in December with a number of prevention-related activities.
“Mostly what we are going to be doing is talking to the media and getting the message across. World AIDS Day is just one day for us, but we usually like to look at a campaign where we have quite a few activities we try to put out during the month of December. And because this is Carnival, people tend to behave in ways they are don’t normally behave. Judgments are also impaired!
“So, for us, we like to look at a campaign and these include visits to the schools. We also have a parent’s seminar planned. We also have a National Testing Day planned for December 12.”
She disclosed that during the Carnival season they would also be providing protection to individuals and urged the public to have a mindset of safety.
“Play it safe and remember getting to zero begins with you. During the Carnival season we do have a season not only with messages, but we also provide materials for persons to protect themselves. But while we are doing that we want people to go with that mindset of safety and not wait until they are there to think about safety.”
Speaking with SKNVibes, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Patrick Martin also indicated that the infection rate is decreasing and gave the rationale for the decline.
“The rate of HIV infections continues to decline. The rate of full-blown AIDS continues to decline because persons who are infected have access to medication that is free of charge at public sector pharmacies.”
World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died from its related illness.
According to the World Health Organisation, 35 million people were living with HIV/AIDS worldwide in 2013. It also reported that 1.5 million have died of Aids-related illnesses in that year.
