World Aids Day: Over 90% of people living with HIV reached, tested

In a significant stride towards global health goals, Guyana announces that over 90 per cent of the community of people living with HIV have been reached and tested on the occasion of World AIDS Day 2023.
The Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, shared this remarkable achievement and conveyed a message of gratitude to all those involved in the relentless fight against HIV.
Under the theme “Let Communities Lead,” World AIDS Day 2023 served as a platform for celebrating advancements in science, technology, and public health that have contributed to a reduction in HIV infections.
The Minister expressed deep respect for those who have lost their lives to HIV while acknowledging the collective efforts that have propelled Guyana towards the global 95-95-95 targets.
Guyana’s progress is evident in the introduction of newer and highly effective prevention modalities, including HIV self-testing (HIVST) and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). It has also successfully placed an increasing number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) on highly effective antiretroviral therapy.
The Minister attributed these achievements to the collaborative efforts of healthcare workers, key populations, civil society communities, PLHIV, and technical and development partners. He took the opportunity to extend heartfelt thanks for their collaboration, support, and service to the HIV response.
Looking towards the future, the Minister outlined key strategies to ensure universal coverage and access, leaving no one behind. This includes the integration of HIV services into primary healthcare, scaling up prevention initiatives, and submitting a request to the World Health Organisation for the validation of the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and congenital syphilis in Guyana.
“This will ensure HIV prevention and treatment services are delivered to people where they are. We will scale up prevention initiatives so that HIV self-testing will become routinely accessible to anyone who needs to know their status,” he said.
Additionally, a commitment was made to transition from pilot to full-scale implementation of PrEP services for those at risk of HIV. Minister Anthony emphasised the determination to ensure that no baby in Guyana is born HIV positive and reassured the PLHIV community of continued access to the best treatment and care based on scientific evidence and international standards.
As the nation moves forward, a strong focus will be placed on strengthening healthcare systems, engaging with technical and development partners, and adopting a comprehensive, multisectoral, and multidisciplinary response.
The Health Minister reiterated the commitment to engage, empower, and let communities lead, ensuring that services are delivered to those most in need and that the vision of an AIDS-free Guyana becomes a reality.
Only a few months ago, the Health Ministry procured a $105 million viral load testing machine so that persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can seek enhanced care.
This updated machine, bought from the Swiss biotech company Roche, allows medical practitioners to test the viral load of patients with HIV, determining the amount of HIV present in a patient’s blood, how quickly the disease would progress, and how efficiently a patient is receiving treatment.
The viral load test usually goes alongside the CD4 test, which assesses the number of T cells in a patient’s blood. This machine, now installed at the National Public Health Reference Laboratory in Georgetown, is an important component in the management of some 9000 HIV-positive patients.
For several years now, affected persons have been unable to access these routine CD4 and viral load tests, leading Guyana to fall short of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) targets.
In 2020, UNAIDS released a set of targets, calling for 95 per cent of all people living with HIV to know their HIV status, 95 per cent of all people with diagnosed HIV infection to receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and 95 per cent of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy to have viral suppression by 2025.
As of the end of 2022, Guyana had recorded 94 per cent of persons knowing their status and 76 per cent of persons who were in care, but only 28 per cent of persons who were virally suppressed.
Recognising the need to have universal viral load testing, this multimillion-dollar viral load testing machine was obtained following its approval in the 2023 Budget.