Georgetown: The Ministry of Health Guyana launched its HIV Case Reporting Standard Operating Procedures recently. The procedures were developed in partnership with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grantee, the National Alliance of State and Territorial Directors (NASTAD). The procedures are intended to ensure a strong integrated HIV Case Surveillance System at the national level, and are the result of the efforts of public and private sector partners and national HIV prevention monitoring and evaluation programmes, to improve the quality and standards of HIV Case Surveillance System.
According to the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, the quality information which will be obtained from the system will be used to organise, plan and implement programmes in response to the HIV epidemic. The upgraded HIV surveillance information will inform resource allocation and advocacy groups, measure the burden of the disease and impact on health services, and provide information for developing broad based strategies to mitigate agents that impact HIV in Guyana.
The launch was chaired by Dr. Morris Edwards, Director, Communicable Diseases, Ministry of Health. Dr Edwards reminded the audience that Guyana has achieved universal access to prevention, care and treatment. He informed the audience that the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC), had implemented case based surveillance in 1991 in public hospitals, selected private hospitals and laboratories, but no Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were established.
In her remarks Dr. Yoran Grant-Greene, Senior Technical Advisor, CDC Global AIDS Program, Guyana stated that the SOPs reflect a focus on the individual following the emergency response to HIV and has framed and retailored the response based on the evidence. She described the SOPs as a living document which serves as an example of collaborative effort and urged partners to utilize it.
Ms Michelle Batchelor, Senior Manager, NASTAD, lauded the partners for their commitment to the ‘living guide’ which will help to frame the response to targeted interventions. She noted that NASTAD has been working in the Caribbean for 10 years and had supported Haiti to develop its surveillance system.
Mr. Vivian Rookhum, Surveillance Officer, Ministry of Health presented the key elements of the SOPs, successes to date and next steps.
The Director of PANCAP Coordinating Unit, and Programme Manager, National AIDS Programme Secretariat were among the participants at the launch.
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