By Hon Wendy Colleen Phipps Minister of State with Responsibility for Health, Social Services, Community Development & Gender Affairs
Fellow Citizens and Residents of St. Kitts and Nevis:
Today, December 1, 2015, St. Kitts and Nevis joins the rest of the global community in observing World AIDS Day. This is a rather special commemoration of the worldwide impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. When the first World AIDS Day was observed in 1988, the Global Programme on AIDS was focused largely on educating people about prevention and treatment, while fighting against the stigma associated with the disease. Now, some 27 years later, the mission of the World Health Organisation, UNAIDS, and other international agencies has remained unchanged.
Their valiant fight continues, as they wave the same banner of ending stigma and discrimination, while educating everyone about the
deadly disease. In 2015, the worldwide struggle against HIV/AIDS is stronger than ever, as World AIDS Day is also a call to action for governments, the private sector, and the medical and scientific community to continue developing and distributing affordable treatments that will save lives and help in the management of the disease. The ultimate goal in HIV/AIDS advocacy, treatment, prevention, and education, is the bold global target of ending the disease by the year 2030.
Every single World AIDS Day observance since 1988 has been geared towards the elimination of HIV/AIDS. This ambition – now dubbed “Getting to Zero” – demands a keen appreciation of the broad-spectrum, social implications of the disease.
This is due to the recognition that the fight against HIV/AIDS demands several considerations, including the following:
- Prevention of Gender Violence
- Governmental Accountability
- Engagement and Activism by the Private Sector
- Involvement by Civil Society
“Getting to Zero” can only become a reality when there are zero new infections, zero deaths due to HIV/AIDS-related illnesses, and zero discrimination the world over.
World AIDS Day should also serve as an opportunity to hear from those affected by the disease, including victims and their families; caregivers; social programmers; HIV/AIDS orphans; and governments and business leaders who (a) suffer productivity losses in the workplace that eventually decrease competitiveness at the national level; and (b) expend increasingly higher financial resources on the treatment and care of those affected and afflicted by the disease.
Statistics from the WHO, UNAIDS and UNICEF indicate the following facts about HIV/AIDS - which are all worthy of note:
1) There are almost 37 million persons in the world who are HIVpositive, out of a global population of approximately 7 billion persons.
2) There are 2.6 million children in the world who are HIV-positive, representing about 7% of the full number of persons who are infected.
3) AIDS is now the leading cause of death among adolescents in Africa.
4) As a region, the Caribbean has, per capita, the 2nd highest incidence of persons infected by HIV. Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest population with almost 27.4 million cases, of which 3 million are children under the age of 15.
5) Approximately 34 million persons have died of AIDS-related illnesses thus far, with an estimated 1.2 million dying within the last two years.
6) In 2015, some 15 million persons were receiving anti-retroviral therapy, compared to only 1 million in 2001.
7) Only 51% of persons with HIV are aware of their status, while 46% of the people living with HIV do not know they have it.
8) Since the year 2000, there has been a 35% reduction in the number of new HIV/AIDS infections and, by extension, the number of AIDSrelated deaths has been reduced by 42%.
9) Cuba is the first country in the world to have successfully attained the milestone of eliminating mother-to-child HIV transmission.
This data field indicates that while we have made great strides in the fight against HIV/AIDS via infection and mortality rate reductions; access to more affordable, life-saving treatments; and positive behaviour change and attitude adjustments, there is still much ground to cover in terms of reducing stigma and discrimination, and realizing general improvements in the quality of life of persons affected and afflicted by the disease.
At the national level, a number of programmes have been in place to confront the myriad of issues associated with HIV/AIDS. The National AIDS Secretariat, which is housed within the Federal Ministry of Health on St. Kitts, continues undaunted in its mission to sensitize and educate persons on the facts about the disease; to facilitate testing; and to promote healthier lifestyles and safe sexual practices, while sustaining its approaches to reducing stigma and discrimination. Like the rest of our OECS neighbours, St. Kitts and Nevis provides free testing and medications for HIV/AIDS. Rapid testing is also available at various locations, such as the community health centers and the Health Promotion Unit. An average of 12-15 new cases of HIV have been confirmed over the past five years, indicating that the rate of infection has stabilized.
Moreover, St. Kitts and Nevis will shortly join a number of other Caribbean countries that have successfully attained the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and Syphilis. Commendations are certainly in order for all of our national health care providers and in particular, the officers of the National HIV/AIDS Programme. Sincere appreciation must also be documented for the private sector, other civil society organisations, and like-minded agencies whose membership have collaborated with Government in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
A number of local activities have been held in the past few weeks leading up to today’s observance of World AIDS Day. These include school visits between November 16-27, with particular focus on primary schoolchildren in grades five and six. This target audience was deliberately selected in order to reach children with life-saving messages about HIV/AIDS before they become sexually active.
Other programmes are also planned throughout the month of December, including National Testing Week that is planned for December 7-11, 2015, in an effort to facilitate voluntary counseling and testing for HIV/AIDS. The week of activities will climax on Friday, December 11, 2015, in Independence Square. However, it should be noted that throughout December, the National AIDS Secretariat will be particularly busy, given our upcoming National Carnival celebrations, and the need for our citizens and residents to party sensibly and avoid unsafe sexual activity during a time that is known for revelry and increased alcohol consumption that can impair judgement and lead to poor decision-making with regrettable consequences.
A number of international goals have been set to achieve worldwide elimination of AIDS within the next 15 years. While some of these milestones are incremental, they are certainly attainable by dint of sheer hard work, especially The 90/90/90 by 2020 Target. This benchmark calls for a tri-fold accomplishment of testing 90% of all persons living with HIV so they can know their status; having 90% of those persons tested and diagnosed with HIV to be referred to care and anti-retroviral treatment; and also ensuring that 90% of those receiving anti-retroviral treatment have test-confirmed, viral suppression of the illness. While this may seem to be a lofty ambition, The 90/90/90 by 2020 Target is an imperative for ensuring that the AIDS epidemic ends by the year 2030. To achieve this, however, we need all hands on deck NOW in the fight against AIDS. UNAIDS’Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, said it best in his 2015 World AIDS Day Message.
He emphasizes the “Urgency of Now”, which “is a defining moment because we cannot afford, any more, to keep AIDS in isolation. We need to make sure AIDS is about social justice, is about global health, maternal health, child health… [that it] is about human rights of people.” As Minister of State with responsibility for Health, I call on all citizens and residents of our Federation to do his or her part to bring an end to the AIDS. Let us lead by example in practicing safe sex, in rising above stigma and discrimination – since AIDS can affect and infect anyone, and in ensuring that we continue on a path towards healthy and wholesome lifestyles, and national productivity and competitiveness that is underpinned by a healthy workforce and general population.
Access to care, treatment and counseling of all persons affected and afflicted by HIV/AIDS is not a luxury – it is a requirement dictated by the rules of social justice. In closing, I also take this opportunity to wish every citizen and resident of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis a peaceful, safe and festive Christmas and Carnival Season.
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