16th February 2016
A six-member delegation from the AIDS Secretariat is in the sister isle of Barbuda conducting a week long exercise, with the hope of eliminating Mother- to- Child HIV and Syphilis transmission.
The first quarter intervention initiative is being spearheaded by the National AIDS Program Manager-Ms. Delcora Williams and Clinical Care Coordinator-Nurse Juliette Richards.
While there, the team will focus on educational awareness sessions with the students and faculty at the Sir McChesney George Secondary and grades three to six at the Holy Trinity Primary School.
Counseling sessions for pregnant women who are enrolled in the Antenatal Care programme and meetings with Nurses and Doctors at Hannah Thomas Hospital on its programme to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) will also be held.
The Sir McChesney George High School has just over one hundred and forty students, eighteen teachers, and seven ancillary staff while over a hundred youngsters from Holy Trinity were involved in Tuesday’s event.
Both educational institutions were shown an animated video on HIV and AIDS prevention and awareness.
Apart from Williams and Richards, the other team members include Counselor and Education Officer-Oswald Hannays, Senior Health Education and Promotion Specialist-Ewarla Piper along-with Annetta Dowe and Gail Aska.
Piper is hoping that when the event is over, Barbuda will be better equipped to handle its monthly reports on HIV and Syphilis.
She is confident that the twin island state will take pattern from Jamaica in completely eliminating Mother to Child Transmission by April of 2016.
Antigua and Barbuda’s last case of Mother-to-Child Transmission was back in 2012 and since then, over thirty babies were born HIV- free from HIV- infected Mothers.
The one week visit concludes on Saturday.
For Further Information Contact: Ms. Debbie Francis Communications Officer Ministry of Health & the Environment Redcliffe Street, St. John’s, Antigua Tel: 1(268) 721-5904
