Enill: Workforce taking a hit from HIV/AIDS

Finance Minister Conrad Enill yesterday said he is concerned about the future workforce because of the high rate of deaths from Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in the 15-24 age group while “many of our    people are getting into the pensionable ages.” Speaking to Newsday after the launch of the TT/World Bank HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Project at the Finance Ministry, Enill said while doing a forecast for pension reform he noticed that “if people are dying at a faster rate” there will be insufficient people for the workforce.

In his address, Enill said HIV is a health problem with an impact so widespread that the world has realised it is a developmental problem that threatens human welfare, socio-economic advances, productivity, social cohesion, and national security. A 1998 study done by the Health Economics Unit of the University of the West Indies has estimated that the economic cost of not treating the HIV/AIDS epidemic in this country would be an annual loss of between 1-1.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product. Enill said the virus “harbours a real potential to destroy the economic system of our country in a very efficient way. Left unchecked, this virus will exact a considerable toll on our most valuable resource, our human capital.” He said Government’s decision to undertake the project reflected its appreciation of the need for very aggressive action to stem the advance of the disease. Enill said a “battle plan” was developed with the involvement of all stakeholders and while there are challenges, Government has made every effort to ensure failure is not an option.

He said a multi-sectoral approach was used, a National AIDS Coordinating Committee has been established to direct and coordinate the national response and staffing provided to support implementation arrangements. On June 27, Government signed a US$20 million loan agreement with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) for implementing TT’s comprehensive HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Project. It is part of the bank’s multi-country HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Adaptable Programme for the Caribbean. Patricio Marquez, lead health specialist, Latin America and Caribbean Region, also expressed concern about the impact of HIV/AIDS on Caribbean populations and economies. He said 83 percent of AIDS cases in the Caribbean are in the most productive group — from teens to adults in their 40s. He said the outbreak of AIDS leads to an increase in premature adult mortality. “If the prevalence of the disease becomes sufficiently high, there may be a progressive collapse of human capital and productivity.”

He said in the past two years the World Bank has supported preparation and start-up of the first six country projects from the Dominican Republic, Barbados, Jamaica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis and TT. A grant of US$2.9 million was approved for Haiti in March last year to support prevention and control of infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis. Marquez said World Bank re-sources to support the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean has reached US$90 million. The addition of counterpart funds from countries brings the total to over US$112 million. St Lucia, St Vincent and Guyana are in the process of preparing country projects which are expected to cost US$30 million. The World Bank is also giving support to CARICOM, the University of the West Indies, Caribbean Network of People Living with AIDS and Caribbean Epidemiology Centre. Marquez said World Bank assistance “is allowing countries to explore new institutional arrangements, to educate people about the epidemic, to reduce risky behaviour associated with the onset of AIDS and to scale up treatment and care activities.”