The monstrous head of HIV

The monstrous head of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has raised its head globally and closer to home. The UNAIDS has revealed that there has been a nine per cent increase of HIV infections in the Caribbean during the last five years, in a report on the need for increased HIV prevention efforts and investments, released ahead of next week’s International AIDS Conference, to be held in Durban.

Alarmingly, the report highlighted that after years of steady decline, the Caribbean has experienced a rise in annual new HIV infections among adults between 2010 and 2015. More worrisome is the fact that after the report was released two days ago, the Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton confirmed that Guyana was among the countries battling the increase. Even more troubling is the fact that the HIV increase in Guyana is among young people. Young people are deemed the world’s greatest hope in the struggle against this fatal disease. It is disappointing that a generation that is exposed to up-to-date information, a generation that has more education, a generation that has more access to knowledge and health care, has fallen prey to this dreaded monster of a disease.

There is no doubt, and local records will show that, hundreds of millions were spent educating young people about HIV, and teaching them skills in negotiation, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision-making and communication in order to improve their self-confidence and ability to make informed choices.

Sexual activity begins in adolescence for the majority of people. According to a UN report on young people and HIV/AIDS, in many countries, unmarried girls and boys are sexually active before the age of 15. Recent surveys of boys aged 15 to 19 in Brazil, for example, found that more than a quarter reported having sex before they were 15. As a result, adolescents who start having sex early are more likely to have sex with high-risk partners or multiple partners, and are less likely to use condoms. Delaying the age at which young people first have sex can significantly protect them from infection. According to the newly released report, data provided reveals that donor funding to fight HIV/AIDS has declined to its lowest levels since 2010, with international donor contributions dropping from a peak of US$9.7 billion in 2013 to US$8.1 billion in 2015. Over the years, strengthened global political commitment to HIV prevention was followed by strengthened financial commitment which resulted in the successes of the global AIDS response. That response to date has been fuelled by extraordinary investment. However, low- and middle-income countries are stepping up to fill the recent donor gap, with domestic resources accounting for 57 per cent of total funding in 2015.

The data provided by the UNAIDS 2016 report highlights that international funding for in-country services in 2015 declined for the second year in a row to US$8.2 billion – a seven per cent reduction from the US$8.7 billion in 2014. There is no doubt that building on the momentum established at the 2016 United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS requires translating the commitments within the political declaration into action. Global targets and milestones, as being advocated for, need to be translated into national and sub-national targets. At the local level, stakeholders need to analyse and understand their local prevention needs and mount an appropriate combination prevention response.

Prevention is the key to reducing infection rates. Interventions must be tailored to the differences between boys and girls, and rural and urban youths.

Policymakers must recognise that HIV prevention efforts must also recognise young people’s immediate needs for shelter and food.

Government must contain this epidemic by mobilising all sectors of society to reach out to young people. Religious leaders, parents and community leaders also need to recognise the importance of their own roles in providing life-saving information and skills to our young generation on the prevention of the spread of HIV.