SOME 1,000 new persons showing symptoms of HIV/AIDS are being treated at health facilities in Jamaica each year.
Dr. Peter Figueroa, Chief of Epidemiology and AIDS at the Ministry of Health, made the disclosure yesterday at the launch of the University of the West Indies HIV/AIDS Response Programme's (UWIHARP) second scientific and business conference.
"We are now seeing on average, 1,000 persons a year with AIDS, 1,000 new cases of AIDS," Dr. Figueroa stated.
This breaks down to two to three persons per day discovering their status from a health practitioner, he said.
Dr. Figueroa explained that the driving force behind the increasing epidemic was the secrecy that enveloped it.
He said: "The epidemic is a hidden epidemic... For years people will remain healthy, unaware of the fact that they are infected and potentially spreading the infection. But even when persons develop symptoms that manifest themselves as AIDS the epidemic remains hidden because persons continue to face significant stigma. They keep the fact that they are infected to themselves, they find it difficult to seek help, many keep it from their family and friends and, therefore, the epidemic remains hidden, unseen and continues to spread. Because the epidemic does not have an obvious face, this contributes to the continued spread."
Dr. Figueroa noted that Jamaica's public health and multi-sectoral response to the epidemic, like that of many other countries in the Caribbean, had not resulted in reducing the spread of the disease.
RESPONSE REMAINS INSUFFICIENT
"Our response remains insufficient to turn the tide of the epidemic and in order to turn the tide and mitigate its social, economic and human impact on our people, we have to better understand how it is spread and how to control it. The only way we can do it is to conduct more research, qualitative and quantitative, to better understand how to control it," he explained.
But the situation could have been worse. Dr. Figueroa said that the Ministry of Health estimated that through support and preventive measures, it had been able to prevent 100,000 persons from infection. Further research would, therefore, help in understanding exactly what is driving the epidemic and what keeps it underground.
"We cannot control the disease unless we understand the social factors as well as how to respond to these factors. We are not going to control it without an understanding of the factors driving the epidemic such as poverty, gender imbalances and commercial sex."
The conference to be put on by UWIHARP June 10-13 will present up-to-date local and regional research on HIV/AIDS and will address some of the factors raised by Dr. Figueroa. Papers presented will examine issues under the themes: 'Communication, Persuasion and HIV/AIDS', 'Social and Economic Impact of HIV/AIDS', 'Educational Interventions for Behaviour Change', 'Stigma and Discrimination in the Context of HIV/AIDS' and 'HIV/AIDS-related Care, Treatment and Support'.
