December 2, 2016:The following are remarks delivered by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Social Development and Family, Jacinta Bailey-Sobers at the Ministry's Stakeholders’ Community Fair in commemoration of World AIDS Day 2016. The event took place on December 1 at the Brian Lara Promenade.
SALUTATIONS
- Ø Deputy Director National AIDS Coordinating Committee – Ms Beverly Andrews
- Ø Coordinator HIV/AIDS Coordinating Unit, Ministry of Social Development and Family Services – Ms Aileen Clarke
- Ø Representatives of the various organizations present and our stakeholders
- Ø Staff of the Ministry
- Ø Media
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Ministry of Social Development and Family Services is proud to join the rest of the world each year in commemorating World AIDS Day, today December 1st. Observed for the first time in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first-ever global health day of the United Nations. Since then, we continue to join the global community to use this day to increase HIV/AIDS awareness according to our mandate to help…, empower and transform the lives of citizens.
I am pleased to be here to welcome you to the day’s proceedings on behalf of Minister, the Honourable Cherrie Ann Crichlow-Cockburn and the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services.
Through the Ministry’s HIV/AIDS Co-ordinating Unit, the Ministry has in its own-way, made an indelible mark in effecting awareness and providing support for persons living with HIV/AIDS in Trinidad and Tobago. Our suite of services and grants continue to be available and tailored to the needs of our diversely vulnerable clientele.
Ladies and gentlemen, since the beginning of the epidemic, the global HIV/AIDS response has been significantly transformed. According to UNAIDS’ Fact Sheet 2016, as of December 2015, 17 million people living with HIV were accessing antiretroviral therapy, up from 15.8 million in June 2015 and 7.5 million in 2010. UNAIDS also estimated that from 2002 to 2012, expanded access to HIV treatment averted 4.2 million deaths globally, contributing to a 58% reduction in new HIV infections.
This year, we embrace the UNAIDS theme to create awareness, provide support for persons living with HIV/AIDS and to commemorate our loved ones who have died due to HIV/AIDS related illnesses. As the Ministry mandated to address vulnerability in society, we are inspired by this years’ theme, “Hands Up for #HIVPREVENTION,” toexplore different aspects of HIV prevention as it relates to specific groups of people, such as adolescent girls and young women, key populations and people living with HIV.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services’ approach to vulnerabilities such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic is guided by the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030. As such, we remain energised in our commitment to working with stakeholders and clients to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as outlined.
Ladies and gentlemen, from a positive perspective, a recent UNAIDS Prevention GAP report, indicated that several countries in the region including Trinidad and Tobago are responding to the HIV epidemic in a positive way. For example, most island states had set targets that by 2010 there would be universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support for HIV/AIDS across the region. Nevertheless, at the end of 2015, the Caribbean region continues to have the second highest adult prevalence rate (1.1%) in the world with an estimated 250,000 people living with HIV (sub-Saharan Africa being the first). Of these, an estimated 9,000 of adults and children were newly infected during 2015.
Ladies and gentlemen, since the start of the epidemic in 1983 to December 2012, there were 22,085 persons (estimated) diagnosed with HIV. The adult HIV prevalence rate in Trinidad and Tobago at 2015 was 0.8%. The estimated total number of persons living with HIV (PLWHIV) is 11,000.
The number of new HIV infections however has begun decreasing, from <1000 persons in 2010 to <500 in 2015 (UNAIDS, 2015).
Today, due to our combined efforts we are helping to change the way citizens perceive HIV and AIDS. We must never forget that a sister with HIV is still a sister. Join us as we break barriers and debunk stereotypes with an armoury of knowledge and enlightenment.
Today’s fair is about:
- Ø Educating you through the United Nations’ theme “Hands Up for #HIVPREVENTION,” There are booths with interactive sessions and demonstrations for your awareness;
and secondly we will seek to
- Ø Encourage you to join with us in the fight to change attitudes and behaviours that are negative and may put one at risk for contracting HIV. We also wish to recognise the HIV/AIDS stakeholders who continue to work tirelessly in seeking to mitigate the impact of this epidemic on our population.
It is upon these facts that I would like to add that as the key Ministry tasked with identifying and assisting vulnerable citizens, we are committed to empowering them to be self-reliant, self-assured, contributing members of society. We are about strengthening the social fabric of Trinidad and Tobago through the creation and implementation of policies and programmes that protect and assist vulnerable and marginalized groups.
Thank you for taking the time out to join us today, let’s put our “Hands Up for #HIVPREVENTION” and join with the rest of the world in commemorating World AIDS Day today.
Together we celebrate World AIDS Day to remind the public that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.
May God Bless Our Nation!