Searchlight Logo
special_image

    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
Editorial
May 12, 2006

AIDS attitude adjustment required

According to the Ministry of Health and the Environment, at present, the life expectancy at birth in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is 74 years for women and 70 years for men. These figures compare very favourably with life expectancy in developed countries like the United States where life expectancy is 80 years and 74 years for women and men respectively.

Published estimates put our life expectancy ahead of many other Caricom nations including Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts Nevis, Antigua and Trinidad and Tobago. We have been able to achieve this because of several factors including a very good primary health system. However, the gains we have made over the last four decades could be quickly eroded if the spread of HIV is not brought under control.{{more}}

Recently released statistics from the Ministry of Health show that for the first quarter of this year, 20 new persons tested positive for HIV/AIDS, and of these, 16 were between the ages of 20 and 44 years.

While HIV/AIDS is not now a leading cause of death among the general population (in 2004, the leading causes of death in St. Vincent and the Grenadines were diabetes, cancer, stroke and heart disease), the disease is the leading cause of death for persons between the ages of 25 and 44 here.

These are persons in the prime of their life, our productive sector, the backbone of society. Should this trend continue, the implications for our social security are enormous. With fewer workers making monthly contributions to the National Insurance Service, while the numbers of retirees increase, how will the system be sustained? Where will the nurses and policemen to provide essential services for an ageing population come from? What about the children forced to grow up without parents? Between 2003 and 2005, 102 children here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines were orphaned because of HIV/AIDS.

We only need to look at countries like Botswana to see the effect of HIV/AIDS on a country in a very short time. The life expectancy at birth there has plummeted in a short time to just 34 years for both men and women.

Interestingly, the Ministry of Health has indicated that the main challenge to bringing the spread of the disease under control is not promiscuity as many may think, but rather stigma. We all need to examine our attitudes to persons infected by HIV/AIDS because we, by our attitudes, might be creating the perfect environment for the rapid propagation of the disease.

How do we react when we learn that our child has an HIV infected classmate? If an employee or co-worker tests positive, are we supportive and compassionate, or do we shun him and assist his exit from the workplace? If we hear rumors that our doctor or fish vendor is HIV positive, do we cease doing business with them? Do we stop hanging out with a friend who is HIV positive because we feel people will think we are positive too?

These are the attitudes that drive the infection underground and make control and treatment difficult. People are understandably reluctant to find out their status and if they are positive, do not tell others of their status.

We understand that the Ministry of Health will soon be introducing rapid HIV/AIDS testing, where clients would be able to get results of an HIV test in 30 minutes. All adults should voluntarily get tested and encourage their friends and colleagues to do so. When people are aware of their status, they can begin treatment earlier, modify their behaviour to prevent the spread of the disease, and be around to contribute to the development of their family and country for much longer.

We sit in our ivory towers and turn our noses up at infected individuals just because we may be in a long-term committed relationship or because we are not homosexual males. The fact is, most persons in St. Vincent and the Grenadines who contract AIDS do so from heterosexual contact, and many of those infected believed they were in an exclusive relationship.

We therefore need to make a conscious effort to check our negative reaction to persons who reveal that they are HIV positive. We all know on an intellectual level that we cannot contract HIV from casual contact. We need now to act on the knowledge.

Health workers have indicated that many of the persons living with HIV/AIDS are trying to live responsibly. However, lack of support from the community, family, the church, peer groups and employers very often forces them out of their jobs, homes and communities and gives them few options for survival other than sexual activity that may be dangerous to themselves and others.

Our responsibility must therefore go beyond ensuring that we “protect ourselves.” That sort of protection is rather narrow and shortsighted, and unless we look at the bigger picture and modify our attitudes, we could be unwittingly contributing to tremendous social upheaval in the not too distant future in our country.

  • FacebookComments
  • ALSO IN THE NEWS
    12 left homeless in mid-day fire at Richland Park
    Front Page
    12 left homeless in mid-day fire at Richland Park
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    A fire that destroyed a multi-family complex in Richland Park over the weekend has left at least 12 people homeless, including a 23-year-old mother of...
    PM responds to US military strike on small boat off Venezuela
    Front Page
    PM responds to US military strike on small boat off Venezuela
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves has responded to reports by the United States administration that its military had carried out the bombing of a boa...
    Building material disappear from the Mary Hutchinson Primary School
    Front Page
    Building material disappear from the Mary Hutchinson Primary School
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    Police investigators on Union Island are said to be looking into the “disappearance” of building materials that were sent to the Southern Grenadine Is...
    What’s new at Fitz Hughes Government School?
    Front Page
    What’s new at Fitz Hughes Government School?
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    by Grace Francis After sharing a small space for over a year, children and teachers at the Fitz Hughes Early Childhood Centre went into brand new prem...
    MRI-6 donates over $70,000 for school meals for vulnerable students
    Front Page
    MRI-6 donates over $70,000 for school meals for vulnerable students
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    Several secondary schools and special needs institutions across St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) have received $5,000 donations towards meals for s...
    Minister of Information Technology  emphasises the importance of Cybersecurity
    News
    Minister of Information Technology emphasises the importance of Cybersecurity
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    Robust cybersecurity must be at the heart of the digital transformation that is currently taking place in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) says Min...
    News
    Minister of Information Technology  emphasises the importance of Cybersecurity
    News
    Minister of Information Technology emphasises the importance of Cybersecurity
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    Robust cybersecurity must be at the heart of the digital transformation that is currently taking place in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) says Min...
    Entities team up to boost disaster communication capacity
    News
    Entities team up to boost disaster communication capacity
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    The Climate Change Resilience Network (CCRN) in collaboration with the Youlou Radio Movement (YRM) recently embarked on a disaster preparedness initia...
    Ministry of Health to get more dialysis machines
    News
    Ministry of Health to get more dialysis machines
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment, is to obtain three more Heamodialysis machines as part of the revolution in the healthcare secto...
    PM Gonsalves heads delegation to Ethiopia
    News
    PM Gonsalves heads delegation to Ethiopia
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, is leading a delegation to the East African country of Ethiopia; the delegation left the state on Wednesday, Septe...
    New Port to be opened on October 24- PM Gonsalves
    News
    New Port to be opened on October 24- PM Gonsalves
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    The modern port in Kingstown is expected to be handed over to the government just before this country celebrates its 46th anniversary of political ind...

    E-EDITION
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Subscribe Now
    • Interactive Media Ltd. • P.O. Box 152 • Kingstown • St. Vincent and the Grenadines • Phone: 784-456-1558 © Copyright Interactive Media Ltd.. All rights reserved.
    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok