Archives: Media Releases

– The Washington Post and other media outlets reported that the social media company began taking down ads for lawsuits against Gilead Sciences regarding the drug Truvada following a widespread outcry from LGBT and HIV groups and health experts.

Facebook is taking down misleading advertisements regarding a drug used to prevent HIV following complaints from several organizations and experts.

The Washington Post and other outlets reported Monday that the social media giant had started to quietly remove the ads, placed by personal injury lawyers for lawsuits alleging that Gilead Sciences’ Truvada (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), used for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent the spread of HIV, were linked to kidney problems and reduced bone density.

Despite widespread outcry from LGBT organizations, health experts and others, the company had initially declined to remove the ads. PrEP is commonly used among LGBT people and others who are considered at high risk of contracting HIV.

Truvada has been known to cause renal impairment and loss of bone density in some patients – as stated in the drug’s package insert – but the drug’s benefits are widely regarded as outweighing the risks. Indeed, Gilead won Food and Drug Administration for a newer drug, Descovy (emtricitabine, tenofovir alafenamide) for PrEP in October, based on that drug’s lower incidence of kidney and bone problems, but some interviewed experts said they would still use Truvada in many patients anyway because the older drug is well-tolerated. Truvada is also expected to become available as a generic later this year.

An analysis of the ads’ claims published in July concluded that they were misleading because they lacked context, suggesting that the risks of kidney damage and loss of bone density were the same for those taking Truvada as a preventive treatment as they were for patients taking it to treat existing HIV infection.

Dozens of LGBT and HIV advocacy groups signed on to a Dec. 9 open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking him to remove the ads from Facebook and Instagram as they risk scaring HIV-negative people from using Truvada to prevent infection.

“By allowing these advertisements to persist on their platforms, Facebook and Instagram are convincing at-risk individuals to avoid PrEP, invariably leading to avoidable HIV infections,” the letter read. “You are harming public health.”

The ads are but one example of how Facebook has often served as fertile ground for misleading and potentially dangerous health claims. In November, a study by researchers at George Washington University and the University of Maryland and published in the journal Vaccine found that of 500 vaccine-related ads examined, 54% were opposed to vaccination, and only two organizations – the World Mercury Project and Stop Mandatory Vaccination – were responsible for all of them. And in 2018, Facebook deleted dozens of pages related to alternative medicine, some of which had as many 3.6 million followers.

Charlot Jeudy, the President of Haiti’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community organization Kouraj, was found dead at his home in November 2019. Investigations into the circumstances of his death are ongoing. The Region remembers Mr Jeudy as a fearless campaigner for human rights.

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in 2010, the people of Haiti worked to overcome the loss of homes, businesses, public services and more than 100 000 lives. But amid the shared trauma and determination, a harmful narrative emerged.

Some people began to blame the masisi—a derogatory Haitian Creole term for gay men. They thought that the disaster was a divine punishment for the sins of the LGBT community. Members of sexual and gender minorities found themselves subject to intensified exclusion and abuse. Human rights organizations documented cases of LGBT people being denied access to emergency housing, food, health care and work. There were also reports of physical assaults and homophobic rape.

Rather than accept the situation, Charlot Jeudy decided to act. He created Kouraj, which means courage in Haitian Creole. In the struggle for equal rights, Kouraj emphasized the importance of community empowerment and aimed to inspire pride and confidence among LGBT people.

“We wish to put forward an alternative discourse on homosexuality in Haiti because for too long only homophobes have discussed our reality and proposed their own interpretation,” Mr Jeudy said in 2011.

Over the next eight years, Kouraj evolved to offer community training, legal and psychosocial services and sexual health education. It became one of Haiti’s leading advocates for ending discrimination against LGBT people and has played a key role in resisting the introduction of discriminatory laws.

The organization was aptly named. Its members have contended with verbal abuse and death threats. Three years ago, it had to cancel a festival to celebrate the Afro-Caribbean LGBT community after numerous threats of violence. According to friends, Mr Jeudy resisted their pleas to leave the country at the time. In response to a spike in reports of anti-LGBT street violence last year, he worked with the United Nations on a project to promote tolerance and equal rights.

John Waters, Programme Manager of the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition, paid tribute to Mr Jeudy’s leadership.

“I have watched Charlot Jeudy grow from a young, impatient and impassioned activist into a thoughtful, strategic leader, capable of using human rights not as a sword, but as a shield,” said Mr Waters. “He won over the hearts and minds of others to create allies. Mr Jeudy has left a huge gap in human rights work in the Caribbean. He raised the bar for those who must now follow in his footsteps.”

Mr Jeudy was also an active civil society representative on the body that oversees the management of Haiti’s response to HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

“Under Charlot Jeudy’s leadership, Kouraj was a model partner,” said Fritz Moise, Executive Director of the Foundation for Reproductive Health and Family Education. “His death is a big loss for the response to HIV in Haiti.”

“Charlot Jeudy exemplified the power of communities to be the voice for the voiceless and to make meaningful change in people’s lives,” said UNAIDS Country Director for Haiti, Mame Awa Faye. “This World AIDS Day we celebrated the power of communities to make a difference. Mr Jeudy did just that.”

PANCAP extends condolences to the family and colleagues of Charlot Jeudy.

Washington D.C. 12 December 2019 (PAHO/WHO) – Universal Health in the Americas can only be achieved if countries reduce the barriers to access and increase investment in primary care. On Thursday 12 December, during the celebration of this year’s Universal Health Day, PAHO called on countries to implement these measures to ensure that all people have access to the health services they need.

The theme of Universal Health Day 2019, “Universal health; for everyone, everywhere”, follows on from the launch of the regional Compact 30.30.30: Primary Health Care for Universal Health, which took place in Mexico City in April with the Director of PAHO, Carissa F. Etienne, and the President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador.

“Primary Health Care is people-centred and community-focused. It addresses the needs of people in their communities and requires investments in integrated health networks to address the complex and comprehensive needs of people, including health promotion and disease prevention,” said Dr Etienne. Primary Health Care is the strategic approach that will support this Region in achieving Universal Health,” she added

The Compact 30.30.30 is PAHO’s immediate response to the recommendations of the High-level Commission “Universal Health in the 21st Century: 40 years of Alma-Ata”. It calls for countries to reduce the barriers that hinder access to health by at least 30% and to allocate at least 30% of public financing for health to the first level of care by 2030.

Primary health care and Universal health

Universal Health is not just about ensuring that everyone is covered by a health care plan, but that this coverage translates into access to comprehensive, quality health services that are focused on the needs of people without exposing them to financial difficulties. Universal Health also requires the implementation of social policies and interventions to address the social determinants of health.

As primary health care services are closer to individuals and communities, they are able to meet the vast majority of a population’s health care needs throughout their lives, from promotion, prevention and treatment to rehabilitation and palliative care. Ensuring greater investment in primary care can, therefore, help prevent between 20-40% of hospitalizations while resulting in significant financial savings for countries. Quality primary health care services lead to better health outcomes and longer life expectancy.

Universal Health Day 2019

Universal Health Day is celebrated each year on December 12 to commemorate the anniversary of the first United Nations resolution that calls on all countries to provide affordable, quality health care.

Events were held throughout the Region of the Americas to mark the day, including one at PAHO’s Headquarters in Washington D.C.

PAHO’s event, “Universal Health Day 2019 – Universal Health: Everyone, Everywhere” Compact on Primary Health Care for Universal Health 2030” brought together representatives from ministries of health in the Americas, civil society, academia, as well as PAHO experts, to discuss ways in which countries can ensure that the goals outlined in the 30.30.30 Compact can be achieved.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Finance of Paraguay, Benigno María López Benítez highlighted that all populations have the right to live a healthy life and underscored the role of finance in ensuring this.

“The government has a clear roadmap for strengthening human capital by transforming health and education. Only through this will we ensure a more productive economy and improve health and wellness,” he said, outlining a tax reform that was approved in 2019 to direct more financing towards health and education.

Minister López also emphasized that “a multidimensional approach to addressing health is essential – as important as preventing diseases instead of just treating them.”

For Roopa Dhatt, Executive Director and Co-founder of Women in Global Health now is a “historic and monumental time for health.” She highlighted that the high-level political declaration on universal health care (UHC) has the potential to transform the health and lives of millions of people, the majority of whom are women. Dhatt also emphasized the need to commit to gender equality and women’s rights, as a fundamental principle of UHC.

The event included an award ceremony for the 2019 Social Innovation in Health Initiative. This initiative, which is led by the Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and co-sponsored by UNDP, UNICEF and the World Bank, aims to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage by harnessing innovative research, capacity building and advocacy.

This year’s winners include a project to identify infants exposed to the Zika virus in Colombia, a project to improve maternal health in rural communities of the Peruvian Amazon, and a project to improve nutrition in rural Colombian communities.

Thursday, 12 December 2019 (ANIRA Foundation, Georgetown Guyana): The ANIRA Foundation Inc., a not-for-profit organisation focused on the education and empowerment of vulnerable groups, will increase efforts to advocate for the health and well-being of Guyanese youth, particularly young women through strategic initiatives focused on adolescent health and rights and building the intellectual capacity of young Guyanese.

While the Foundation was officially launched on Thursday 12 December 2019, it has successfully implemented projects aimed at the empowerment of young women and the education of youth since 2017.

Founded by H. E. Sandra Granger, First Lady of Guyana and Co-Chair, Spouses of the CARICOM Leaders Action Network (SCLAN), the Foundation has embarked on a project, “Pilots of the Caribbean” with the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Social Protection to reduce the amount of teenage pregnancies among vulnerable girls (in and out of school youth), decrease the rates of HIV and Syphilis among sexually active youth, immunize vulnerable girls against HPV and increase the amount of post-pregnant teens who complete school or vocational skills programmes.  The project also aims to create awareness of gender-based violence and its effect on vulnerable women’s exposure to HIV.  The project is under the umbrella of the Spouses of CARICOM Leaders Action Network (SCLAN) and is supported by the Gilead Foundation at a cost of USD$ 251, 000.00.

The Foundation will also seek to foster a passion for Science, Technology and Mathematics with the distribution of “Robot Kits” to school-aged youth in communities across Guyana including Hinterland Regions through a collaboration with STEMGuyana.

Ms Granger is passionate about safeguarding the health and wellbeing of vulnerable women and the empowerment of youth which inspired her to create the Foundation.

“Beyond providing access to health services and education, ANIRA aims to place the power of securing good health and the ability to earn an income into the hands of vulnerable groups,” stated Ms Granger, “it is not enough to provide access to health and skills training, ANIRA will ensure young girls and youth have the requisite skills and knowledge to safeguard their sexual and reproductive health and to secure employment”.

With the expert skills and experience of a 14-member board of directors and a project implementation team, the Foundation will serve to fulfil Ms Granger’s vision of self-sufficient Guyanese youth and empowered young women.  The Foundation’s work is external to Ms Granger’s responsibilities as First Lady and will serve to achieve her goal of a better life for Guyanese youth.

“ANIRA goes beyond my work as First Lady to fulfil my lifelong dream of a Guyana where our young people have the knowledge to make healthy choices and can utilise their innate talents and skills to provide for their families,” stated Ms Granger, “The Foundation exists to secure the future of Guyana’s youth by placing the power of knowledge into the hands of vulnerable groups”.

– ENDS –

What is the ANIRA Foundation?

The ANIRA Foundation is a not-for-profit company registered in Guyana dedicated to the education and empowerment of vulnerable groups.  The Foundation is chaired by H. E. Sandra Granger, First Lady of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and Vice-chair of the Spouses of CARICOM Leaders Action Network (SCLAN).

Helpful links:

 The ANIRA Foundation

https://anirafoundation.com/

STEMGuyana

http://stemguyana.com/

 Global AIDS Update 2018

https://www.unaids.org/en/20180718_GR2018

WHO recommendations on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (2018)

https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/adolescent-srhr-who-recommendations/en/

Editor’s Notes

Background to “Pilots of the Caribbean”

The project will encompass HIV and Syphilis testing, treatment and prevention with social interventions to keep young girls in school.  It will also seek to foster economic development, end gender-based violence and link men and boys to health services.  The rapid diagnostic test kits, which will be utilized for testing, will be provided by the Ministry of Public Health and the Foundation.

The project will target 500 adolescents (100 males and 400 females) between the ages of 12 and 24.  Phase 1 will target the Sophia community, while Phases II and III will focus on vulnerable, mainly indigenous communities in Moruca, Region 1 (Barima-Waini) and Lethem, Region 9.  The Foundation will align the sensitisation and knowledge sharing with the educational needs and requirements of each community.

A new private clinic and a 16-year old local NGO have teamed up to make HIV prevention medication more available. Today, Midway Speciality Care Centre Guyana (MSCCG) and the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD Guyana) signed a Memorandum of Understanding at a media launch of the clinical services to formalize their partnership in preventing new HIV infections in Guyana.

Midway Speciality Care Centre Guyana (MSCCG) is a not-for-profit clinic that is established to provide non-communicable and infectious disease care. Dr Moti Ramgopal MD, FACP, FIDSA, founded Midway Speciality Care Centre, which treats 6,000 patients in eight clinics in the United States of America. These clinics have provided a wide range of speciality and primary care services for patients. SASOD Guyana is a well-known human rights organisation that has been at the forefront of the HIV response in Guyana.

SASOD Guyana has been a long-time advocate for the introduction of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Services (PrEP) for all persons who are at risk. Midway Speciality Care Centres have acquired tremendous expertise in providing Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in the United States. After a series of intense deliberations between MSCCG and SASOD Guyana,  have agreed to introduce PrEP and non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis (nPEP) services at a weekday, full-service clinic located at 100 Carmichael Street (opposite Woodlands Hospital) and a satellite community clinic every Saturday at the SASOD Guyana office at 203 Duncan Street in Lamaha Gardens. The two agencies are convinced that with the introduction of these services that it would prevent those that are “substantial risk” from acquiring the HIV infection.

MSCCG and SASOD Guyana are providing PrEP and nPEP as part of combination prevention which includes condoms and lubes, STI screening and management, HIV testing and counselling, risk reduction management and harm reduction. The partners are also providing comprehensive support, consisting of adherence counselling, mental and emotional support, and sexual and reproductive health services. These services will be available to the from next week Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm,  starting on December 9. SASOD Guyana’s  Saturday clinic will commence on January 4, 2020. To make an appointment, interested persons can contact MSCCG by phone on 502-1951 or by email at MSCCG@gmail.com. SASOD Guyana can also be contacted by phone on 225-7283, 623-5155 or by email at sasod@sasod.org.gy. MSCCG’s Medical Doctor, Dr Ruth Ramos, and SASOD Guyana’s Managing Director signed the  Memorandum of Understanding in the presence of the media with MSCCG’s Nurse Lois Barrow witnessing the inking of the private sector – civil society agreement.

Media Contact
Joel Simpson
Managing Director
SASOD Guyana
Phone: 225-7283 or 623-5155
Email: manager@sasod.org.gy

Mr Tyrone Ellis, Chair of the Caribbean Regional Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (CRN+), was recently awarded by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Jamaica for being of “High Individual Value” in the response to HIV and AIDS in Jamaica.

The award was presented to Tyrone by the Ministry of Health and Wellness in November 2019 for his outstanding contribution to Jamaica’s national HIV response. PANCAP congratulates Tyrone on this significant achievement.

The Chair recently spoke with the Editor of the PANCAP Newsletter on new plans for CRN+. “As Chairman of CRN+, my vision is to work towards providing support and advocacy services for People Living with and affected by HIV in the Caribbean Community,” stated the Chair.  He also plans to enhance the promotion of broader sexual health objectives through education, training and health promotion.

Tyrone further stated that he intends to increase public awareness and understanding around HIV and AIDS and to reduce stigma and discrimination, which will improve the quality of life for People Living with HIV.

By Dr Nastassia Rambarran and Joel Simpson, SASOD Guyana

SASOD Guyana was the local study partner for the Guyana Key Populations Viral Load Assessment.  Funding for this project was provided by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Global Fund to Fight Tuberculosis, AIDS and Malaria with technical support from MEASURE Evaluation in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health’s National AIDS Programme Secretariat.

SASOD Guyana’s Public Health Consultant, Dr Nastassia Rambarran, and Managing Director, Joel Simpson led the fieldwork. The study surveyed 1082 Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV) who attended five care and treatment centres in Georgetown and collected blood for viral load (VL) testing in a subset of those surveyed. The enumerators were recruited from the staff of the five sites and were trained by the SASOD Guyana and MEASURE Evaluation research team.

The study showed that PLHIV reported almost no difficulty in accessing health services and that key populations (KPs) face elevated health, social and economic risks. For example, KPs in HIV treatment tended to be younger, more likely to be unemployed, engage in transactional sex and consume alcohol and illegal substances more than non-KP respondents.

In general, some PLHIV on treatment still engage in risky behaviour. It found that 19% of all clients did not use a condom at last vaginal sex, and 24% did not use a condom at last anal sex. This highlights the need for Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) among couples who do not have the same HIV status.

Among those who engaged in transactional sex, only 55% had used a condom at the last paid sex. The study also showed that the HIV information system in Guyana has incomplete information on VL testing and results with health facilities not meeting VL testing targets and therefore not being able to provide optimal HIV services to their clients. The data from the study could, however, be used by implementers to fill those gaps at the programmatic level and to estimate the viral suppression in Guyana with more accuracy.

To read the complete study on PANCAP.org click here.