By Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Tuesday 28th November 2023)-Statistics of individuals infected with the sexually transmitted virus HIV in St. Kitts and Nevis includes a 13-year-old in the over 200 cases recorded to date. Such information was revealed by health educator and counselor, nurse Lucine Pemberton-Vaughan from the Ministry of Health while making an appearance on Freedom FM’s ‘Issues’ programme aired on Tuesday 28th November 2023. with host Jamie McPhail, as part of an educational outreach to sensitize members of the public leading up to World AIDS Day-observed 1st December.
“This month we have been out. We have been testing persons. We have been doing educational sessions. We have been in the churches, we have been in the schools, we have been in the workplaces, in the communities…We have just been out there spreading the word and reminding persons that HIV is not a thing of the past; that we still have it very much here with us…,” she commented in her remarks.
According to Pemberton-Vaughan: “Persons are only living longer because they are being tested and that they were able to access treatment… We have persons as young as 13 years. We have a 13-year-old who is infected and we have up to 75, and we need to keep the word out there that persons need not be afraid to come forward to get tested.
It is another chronic illness like diabetes and hypertension. Long ago, persons took thirty (30) tablets a day. Now, we have it in just one pill but we don’t want persons to really get too comfortable with that. An ounce of prevention is better than an ounce of cure.” “We want persons to take that personal responsibility to protect themselves so we don’t really want to leave any stone unturned…” she added.
According to her: “So far for this year, we have eleven new cases. Last year we had 23 new cases and I was just told this afternoon that our numbers are up to 225. Now, this is the known cases so you have to multiply that by three or four because each of these persons have partners who have partners and this 225 is just the tip of the iceberg so we have some work that we need to do… we are doing our best, the government is doing its best.
We all have our part to play. The Ministry of Health alone cannot carry this burden; it’s an individual affair.” Questioned about any observation regarding individuals being reluctant to get tested because of the stigma attached, Pemberton-Vaughan replied…
“Yes. We as a people are responsible for that. Stigma and discrimination fuel the HIV epidemic. When we shame people, we blame them, we ostracize them, persons are afraid to come out and even sometimes in relationships, people are willing to rarely disclose their status but some persons are really afraid of word getting out.
And we want that stigma and discrimination really to be a thing of the past. That was when we were ignorant’ It’s a chronic infection. The health educator then went on to touch on her dream as it relates to persons attitude towards HIV.
“I have a dreamI would like people to one day say ‘I forgot to take my HIV meds’ and run back home, and the bus stops and somebody says ‘Run go… we waiting for you.’ It’s like ‘I forgot to take my insulin’ and we just want people to be open and honest , and in doing so we will not only help them, we’re helping ourselves because persons will be much more comfortable disclosing their status, and be more honest.” Front Banner Imageused for illustration purposes onlyshows positive HIV test in lab setting (credit: GETTY IMAGES/iStockPhoto)
