Guyana’s Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony and the Ministry of Health on Saturday hailed the contributions of former Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Americas, Dr Carissa Etienne who passed away suddenly on Friday. “The Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony is saddened ...

On December 1st, the Healthy Caribbean Coaliiton (HCC) co-hosted The 2023 Conference on the Harmful Use of Alcohol in the English-Speaking Caribbean alongside its partners, The UWI Faculty of Medical Sciences, St. Augustine and the Eastern Caribbean Health Outcomes Research Network (ECHORN). The Conference was held at the UWI St. Augustine Campus, and live-streamed via the Zoom platform in recognition of the 8th Caribbean Alcohol Reduction Day (CARD).

This hybrid conference event was conceptualized by HCC Alcohol Policy Advisor, Professor Rohan Maharaj, and featured presentations from regional academics and public health experts, working in the field of alcohol research and policy. Seventeen (17) presentations were delivered, covering a wide range of topics including the impact of alcohol on public health, regional policy interventions, and the latest research findings. Lay summaries from those presentations can be found here: (click on the images below to enlarge)

The HCC and partners, with the support of PAHO, have hosted annual CARD events over the last seven years, under various themes and titles: The Misuse of Alcohol (2016); Drink Less, Reduce Cancer (2017); Youth: Let’s Talk about Alcohol (2018); Women and Alcohol (2019); Alcohol and COVID-19 (2020); Live Better, Drink Less: Challenges and Opportunities in the Caribbean (2021) and ‘The WHO Global Alcohol Action Plan (GAAP) 2022-2030 – Priorities / Implications for the Caribbean’ (2022).

This year’s hybrid conference theme was entitled “Alcohol Research- Evidence for Action and attracted over 100 virtual and 36 in-person attendees.

The objectives of the Conference and by extension, CARD 2023, were:

1. To provide an update on regional progress and priorities in alcohol policy development and implementation including discussion of barriers and opportunities.
2. To showcase alcohol research from across the English-speaking Caribbean.
3. To discuss how to better utilize research to advocate for accelerated implementation of alcohol policies in the Caribbean.
4. To highlight alcohol advocacy.

Throughout the day, four (4) sessions were held surrounding the issues of alcohol and population-based studies, regional policy, social impact and medical issues. Each session was followed by a brief Q&A segment.

• Download the Concept Note
• Download the Conference Abstract Supplement

The HCC and partners have held an annual Caribbean Alcohol Reduction Days (CARD) since 2016 you can find details of the other CARD days here.

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“We must recognize the fundamental part that communities play in accelerating the HIV response,” Dr Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO director said. “Today, let us renew our commitment and support for community leadership as we work together to eliminate AIDS in the region of the Americas.”

Let communities lead is the theme for World AIDS Day 2023, emphasizing the role that organizations led by people most disproportionately affected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) play in the response to this four-decade epidemic.

“We are on the home stretch when it comes to ending AIDS as a public health challenge, but we will only achieve this goal if we empower the most affected communities that are being left behind,” Luisa Cabal, regional director of UNAIDS for Latin America and the Caribbean said. “Community leadership is essential in all HIV plans and programs, which must also have financing and protective regulations for their operation.”

To support the expansion of services to key populations and people living with HIV, PAHO and UNAIDS launched the “I am key” initiative in eleven countries in Latin America. This effort has led to strengthened partnerships with communities and civil society to support an accelerated response and people-centred service models.

It is essential that communities are empowered to develop their own strategies and reach those who need it most with information, HIV self-testing, antiretrovirals as a method of prevention (known as PrEP), and treatment to reach an undetectable viral load and break the chain of transmission.

As spaces free of stigma and discrimination, services led by community groups also increase acceptance and retention in care for gay men and other men who have sex with men, sex workers, trans people, and drug users – populations considered key in the response to HIV and among whom the highest number of new infections are reported.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, around 2.5 million people live with HIV. In 2022, about 130,000 people acquired the virus and 33,000 lost their lives from AIDS-related causes.

Expand PrEP to prevent new cases of HIV

Advances in medicine and public health have allowed rapid diagnosis and methods for combined prevention and effective treatment against the virus. A person with HIV who adheres to treatment no longer transmits the virus, and a healthy person who takes PrEP has 99 percent protection against HIV.

The region has also made great efforts to advance the implementation of PrEP, which is reflected in an increase in the number of countries with public health policies on PrEP and its greater availability. However, the number of people receiving it needs to be rapidly increased to prevent new cases of HIV.

Disseminating information to communities can support increased demand for PrEP, especially among those at highest risk of exposure. Additionally, through the PAHO Strategic Fund, countries in the Americas can purchase PrEP at affordable prices, a fundamental support given the limited resources of some health ministries.

As Guyanese police on Wednesday said reported two serious cases of domestic violence, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) announced that it would next week take a major step to improve the way the health sector in the Americas address violence against females. “To enable the health sector to play this important role, it is ...

President Irfaan Ali on Monday urged Guyana’s private sector to take advantage of business opportunities with European companies that are participating in the European Union’s (EU) first ever trade mission here, even as he urged Europe to “reset” its business relations with this South American country Addressing the opening of the mission’s two-day engagement here, ...

The 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has formally agreed to back Saudi Arabia’s bid to host Expo 2030 in Riyadh and the establishment of an international water organisation,  in exchange for support in a range of areas including combatting climate change and boosting trade, investment and food security, according to a joint statement. The leaders declared ...

The post New mental health medicines website for young people appeared first on Irish Medical Times.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided Guyana’s Ministry of Health with 13 solar-powered vaccine refrigerators to be used in health care centres in remote areas of the country. US Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole D. Theriot handed over the refrigerators worth US$160,000, and the embassy here said the presentation demonstrated the American ...

At least 20 European companies have signaled their intention to participate in the European Union’s (EU) first ever trade mission under the “Global Gateway” partnership initiative with 150 countries, EU’s Ambassador to Guyana, “We would have the very first trade mission coming to Guyana and that trade mission is here under the heading of the ...

Death rates from COVID-19 were much higher among people with serious mental illness and Black Caribbean/Black African persons than among White persons, new research suggests. Medscape Medical News