Health ministry working to ensure access to HIV testing by pregnant hinterland women -Cummings
The Ministry of Public Health is seeking to enable pregnant women in the hinterland access to HIV testing, according to Junior Minister Dr. Karen Cummings, who says focus is being placed on building capacity in the regions to have adequatelytrained personnel who can use HIV testing kits.
A recent study produced by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs found that indigenous women are not accessing HIV testing.
Human rights activist Sherlina Nageer, in a letter published in the September 27 edition of the Stabroek News, labeled the situation “a completely unacceptable state of affairs.”
“The situation for people in the hinterland is especially concerning as there are already fewer resources and facilities in that area, compared with the coastal regions of Guyana (a fact corroborated in the report cited above). In fact, research project after research project has clearly and repeatedly described the increased vulnerability of women and girls in the interior regions to sexual abuse and predation, trafficking, violence, and other societal ills,” Nageer wrote.
She pointed out that antenatal HIV testing of pregnant women has been recognised for over two decades as one of the best ways of preventing the vertical transmission of HIV and that treatment of HIV-positive pregnant women with antiretroviral medication can prevent disease transmission to the infant.
“The Ministry of Public Health is working assiduously to remedy the issue of lack of trained staff by building the capacity in the hinterland regions so that adequately trained personnel will be available to effectively use the HIV Testing Kits,” Dr. Cummings said in response to questions from this newspaper.
She pointed out that the report is comprehensive and focuses on a number of pertinent issues that affect indigenous peoples.
While the report covered various aspects of indigenous women’s lives, including violence, Cummings sought to address the health issues and to highlight how the ministry will address the shortcomings that were found.
In the area of maternal health, Cummings disclosed that the ministry is currently embarking on an US$8 million project with support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in maternal child health, which will benefit all Guyanese including the Indigenous people.
She said the ministry, through its Maternal and Child Health Programme, has been working assiduously to reduce and ultimately eradicate maternal mortality in Guyana.
“As a government, we recognise that the risk of