Global Fund withdrawal could hamper HIV/STI fight
Published:Thursday | October 21, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Barrington Flemming, Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Jamaica's National Strategic Plan (NSP) to curtail the transmission of HIV/STI could be jolted by the possible withdrawal of funding by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Speaking with The Gleaner on Tuesday at the start of the HIV/STI 21st annual Retreat and Planning Review Workshop at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort in Montego Bay, NSP director, Dr Kevin Harvey, disclosed that of the US$200 million needed to implement a five-year plan, Jamaica had only succeeded in raising US$80 million.
And although facing a major shortfall, the NSP official feels the situation may worsen as a result of the global economic crisis.
"We are in a situation where countries are expected to fund their own HIV programmes from their national budget, especially those that are labelled upper middle-income countries, as Jamaica, has been classified," he said.
Harvey said the situation could jeopardise the effectiveness of the programme, which started in 2008 and should be fully realised in 2012.
He argued that it would be detrimental if it does happen.
"For example, all the antiretroviral drugs that provide life-saving medication to persons with HIV is provided by external funding to the tune of US$9 million over a three-year period. This is covering just about half of those affected," he said.
"So we need about US$5 million-US$6 million per year to provide antiretroviral treatment to all who need it," he added.
Worrying issue
Turning his attention to the worrying issue of intergenerational sex, Harvey indicated that females aged 15-29 showed significantly higher levels of infection than their male counterparts.
"In this age group, there are twice as many females affected, and particularly in the 15-19 age group, there are three times as many females affected as males.
"But when you look at the opposite side, you have more men infected than women when they hit the over-30 age group."
He said many girls are participating in what has been deemed transactional sex - sex in exchange for gifts or money - with older men.
This activity, he argued, has contributed to the sharp increase in the infection rate of teen girls and young women.
"We now see where 27 per cent of the population reports having transactional sex, and some of this is intergenerational sex. Older men are having sex with girls and younger women, as they continue to perpetuate the myth that having sex with a virgin or young girl can cure them of a sexually transmitted infection."
Harvey noted that while condom usage among the general populace has not shown significant increase over the years, behavioural surveys from the health ministry indicate that commercial sex workers have shown a 95 per cent compliance rate.