As millions get set to mark World AIDS Day on 1 December, local activists are urging officials to increase educational programmes to not only keep cases down, but also to break the cycle of stigmatisation that still exists.
Chief Executive Officer of the Cayman AIDS Foundation, Noel Cayasso-Smith made this point through a statement on Tuesday, ahead of the annual observance.
“As our number are steadily rising and [with] our numbers at 163 here in the Cayman Islands [it] still indicates we need more educational programs to help educate our communities which will reduce the amount of stigma and discrimination that causes persons not to come forward to be tested and seek the treatment needed to live a healthy lifestyle. Let’s use this year’s theme ‘communities make a difference’ to treat persons living with HIV and AIDS as equals,” he urged.
According to a press release sent by the ministry of health, since 1985, the Cayman Islands has had 188 cases of HIV, of which 83 persons progressed to AIDS. 18 new cases of HIV have been recorded since 2020, of which six cases were identified between January-September 2022.
As part of this year’s local World AIDS Day activities, the Health Services Authority and Public Health Department will commemorate the occasion with a week of free HIV and STI testing from Wednesday 30 Nov. to Thursday 8 Dec. 2022.
“This year’s “Equalize” theme is a call to action. It is a prompt for all of us to work for the proven practical actions needed to address inequalities and help end AIDS in ways such as to increase the availability, quality, and suitability of services for HIV treatment, testing and prevention so that everyone is well-served,” an HSA statement said Tuesday.
The Foundation, in its statement, reminded that communities can make a difference and can help to put an end to the AIDS epidemic.
“World AIDS Day 2022 is an opportunity to harness the power of social change to put people first and close the gap. Ending the AIDS Epidemic by 2030 is possible, by working together as a community and allowing people access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services and people who are being left behind,” it said.
It said working together as a community means empowering and enabling all people, everywhere, to access the services they need.
“Since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 70 million people have acquired the infection. And about 35 million people have died. Today, around 37 million worldwide live with HIV, of whom over 22 million are on treatment,” it said.
World AIDS Day was first established in 1988.
Then, the Foundation said, the world looked very different to how it is today.
In those early days, it reminded, “with no treatment on the horizon, extraordinary prevention, care and awareness-raising efforts were mobilized by communities around the world – research programmes were accelerated, condom access was expanded, harm reduction programmes were established and support services reached out to those who were sick”.
The HIV movement was branded with the iconic red ribbon in 1991.
“At the time New York based artist from the Visual AIDS Artists Caucus created the symbol, choosing the color for its connection to blood and the idea of passion – not only anger, but love… This was the very first disease-awareness ribbon, a concept that would later be adopted by many other heath causes,” the Foundation added.
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