'Faces' launched in Guyana, Red Cross to scale up HIV programmes

The Guyana Red Cross Society (GRCS) launched the FACES campaign on World AIDS Day (WAD) 2006, which was fitting for the theme ‘Stop AIDS, Keep the Promise.’ The four Faces posters were launched in a brief ceremony at the Cara Lodge.

Attending the launch were GRCS volunteers, and representatives from NAPS, Guyana Power & Light, Guyana Defence Force, Volunteer Youth Corp, Geddes Grant, US CDC, Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, UNAIDS, Peace Corps Guyana, Ministry of Health, the media and members of the public.

 GRCS Secretary General Mrs. Dorothy Fraser, Ministry of Health representative Mr. Nazim Hussein of the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS), and UNAIDS Country Coordinator, Dr. Rueben del Prado, addressed the audience.

Mr. Hussein spoke on condom use from a national perspective. He noted that the Government of Guyana has been cognizant of the devastation that HIV & AIDS has on national development and poverty reduction efforts.

He pointed at the establishment of NAPS, the Gum Clinic and the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) as part of the Government’s response. He noted that while NAPS coordinated activities at a national level, AIDS committees were formed to coordinate activities at a sub-regional level. 

Mr. Hussein said 2007 will make 20 years since the first reported case of HIV in Guyana. He went on to praise the Faces campaign, saying such campaigns are needed to promote HIV awareness and condom use.

SG Dorothy Fraser first read the WAD message from President of the International Federation, Juan Manual Suarez del Toro Rivero. She then stated why the Faces campaign was being launched in Guyana, noting that after Haiti, Guyana is reported to have the worst HIV situation in the Caribbean.

She informed that Faces is a visual campaign that speaks to everyone, adding that we all need to be accountable. She said the GRCS intends to scale up its programmes and response efforts towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reversing the spread of HIV by advocacy, prevention, care, treatment and support.

Dr. del Prado praised the campaign, noting that because it is graphic, it gets at the heart of the matter. He however cautioned that posters and videos do not protect against HIV & AIDS but condoms do and people who are sexually active should use them.

Dr. del Prado also addressed the issue of making condoms more widely available to all communities, noting that a lack of condom does not prevent persons from engaging in sexual activity.

The four Awareness Champions for the campaign also spoke at the event, highlighting different messages regarding condom use.

Anand Roopsind of the Iwokrama International Rainforest Programme, spoke briefly on the ‘Responsibility of using condoms’; Kethlen Gomes, who volunteers with GRCS in Region 9, addressed the ‘Taboos and stigma attached to condom use’; Doniel Duguid, from Farfan & Mendes Ltd spoke on the ‘Corrent use of condoms’, and Marc Williams, another GRCS volunteer in Region 1, addressed ‘Condom Use vs. Gender Equality’.