Combating AIDS stigma and discrimination is major challenge

Thursday, April 1, 2004

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Chief of Epidemiology and AIDS in the Jamaican Ministry of Health, Dr. Peter Figueroa has said that combating the strong stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS remained one of the major challenges in overcoming the spread of the disease. 

Addressing the annual general meeting of the National AIDS Committee (NAC) in Kingston recently, Dr. Figueroa emphasized that there was a need to find and develop more ways to combat stigma and discrimination, so as not to drive the disease further underground.

A simple and effective way to begin the effort, he said, was to start by educating misinformed colleagues about the disease. "Very often AIDS patients are in a room when persons [unaware of their presence] are discussing what should be done with those afflicted by the disease," Dr. Figueroa said.

"It is important for all of us to respond to the negative behaviour, even at that individual level because, to the extent that the stigma and discrimination continues, it means that the epidemic will continue to spread. This will make it much more difficult for someone at risk, who thinks he or she may be infected, and for others who know that they have been infected, to come forward to seek help, treatment and support," he explained.

Stigma and discrimination, he further noted, made it far more difficult for organizations like the NAC to reach those most in need of education and support.

"Let us be more willing to be associated more openly, especially our leaders, with HIV/AIDS issues and concerns," he appealed.

Citing another on-going challenge, Dr. Figueroa said that effective treatment with anti-retroviral drugs for patients "has been a tremendous shortcoming" in the National HIV/STI Control Programme. This, he added, was evident given the lack of any public access programme to anti-retroviral drugs due to the high cost.

However, hope is within sight. "We are on the verge of concluding a grant agreement with the United Nations Global Fund that will enable us [Ministry] to put in place a programme for providing anti-retroviral drugs to persons who need it, and that is our big priority this year," Dr. Figueroa pointed out. 

Citing prevention as another challenge in combating the spread of the disease, he said there was a need to find effective ways of reaching persons before they became infected with HIV/AIDS. "We have to ask ourselves about what more we need to be doing, whether as parents or in the educational system or in the workplace, to make more of a difference in this respect," he said.

Dr. Figueroa also noted that there was a need to explore the option of promoting universal counselling and voluntary HIV testing on a wider basis so that, people were more aware of the need to get tested to know their status. "People who may be HIV infected will feel encouraged and supported to come forward to get tested, so that they can enter into a treatment and support programme," he said.

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