UNDP provides COVID-19 aid to persons with HIV, LGBT+ community

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has provided $5.6 million worth of food items in COVID-19 relief to Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV) and members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender plus (LGBT+) community in Guyana.

A release yesterday from the UNDP said that PLHIV and LGBT+ persons are among the most vulnerable and marginalized in any society. At the time of COVID-19 and its mandatory containment measures, the challenges facing these groups are further exacerbated, it was noted.

The National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS) and Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) are partnering with UNDP to ensure that the relief is delivered to individuals and households from key population groups in Regions 3, 4, 5 and 6, the release added.

The NAPS will also pair the delivery of food items with the distribution of Antiretroviral

Therapy (ART) to PLHIV to ensure that persons are still accessing and following their treatment.

Director of the NAPS, Dr. Rhonda Moore, noted that UNDP’s support is part of a wider initiative to address food insecurity for members of the PLHIV key populations. She noted that NAPS is partnering with several Civil Society Organizations to reach persons across Guyana and the UNDP’s support will specifically target families as against individuals.

Managing Director of SASOD, Joel Simpson, said that the UNDP was one of the first international partners to respond to the needs of the LGBT+ community by supporting a socioeconomic needs assessment of the LGBT+ population. The findings from that study were circulated to key partners and would help to support fund raising efforts to respond to the impact of COVID-19.

Resident Representative, Jairo Valverde, noted that UNDP is