‘Community approach vital in battle against HIV/AIDS’

COMMUNITY Develo-pment Minister Joan Yuille-Williams last Friday underscored the value of a community approach in the battle against the deadly HIV/AIDS, during her feature address at the opening of the HIV /AIDS Information and Support Services Centre in Moruga. Senator Yuille-Williams, who at the time was acting as Prime Minister in the absence of Patrick Manning who visited Cuba last week for a health check-up, said the major challenge facing service providers in the battle against HIV/AIDS was promoting and sustaining attitudinal changes among the youth population.

“If members of communities take responsibility for the dissemination and reinforcement of information, the nation as a whole would benefit,” the minister told a large gathering at the Basseterre Community Centre. She pointed out that the project was both significant and integral to the national effort, since it offers an alternative approach to the fight against a disease, which the minister termed “one of the most pervasive and devastating social problem affecting man-kind.” The acting Prime Minster praised the villagers of Moruga for germinating and developing the idea of the HIV/AIDS information and support centre. She also lauded 40 women from the district who made themselves available for training in preparation of its establishment.

She revealed statistics from UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation (WHO) showed that some 40 million persons lived with HIV/AIDS. Statistics for last year showed five million newly affected AIDS cases and three million deaths worldwide. The statistics also show that the Caribbean ranks very high among countries with recorded cases of the disease. “The frightening statistics demand every citizen and every organisation to become enrolled in the battles against the scourge of HIV and AIDS,” she emphasised.