This is an interesting article I came across recently, another popular blog site also posted the article a few days back. But maybe GHARP and other health agencies should use actual people in our community to spread the word about HIV/AIDS prevention and prevalence. "But i mad that Otisha said that business is booming, he got me thinking what our society up to."
I first met Otisha, a tall Afro-Guyanese transvestite prostitute in 2003 when I reported on HIV and Aids in Guyana and Barbados.Back then, the Caribbean had the second highest rate of infection in the world.
The prevalence among female sex workers in Guyana was 27% and 21% for men who have sex with men. Five years later, Otisha is still a commercial sex worker and business is booming for him."I go with lots of clients," said Otisha, who has himself managed to avoid contracting HIV.
When I last visited, men were paying extra money to have unprotected sex.
"You do have some men who pay that type of money to have sex but I'm not going to have unprotected sex," said Otisha.
Government support for HIV and Aids sufferers has improved dramatically in Guyana in the past five years.
"They are promoting more Aids programmes on national television and promoting the use of condoms," said Otisha.
"In 2003/2004 our prevalence was approximately 2.4%. At the end of 2006 we conducted another survey, so we estimate in Guyana, right now our prevalence is about 1.55%," said Dr Singh.
The infection rate among female sex workers has also dropped significantly in recent years.
"There has been a lot of work going on to educate the general public - mass media campaigns, a lot of print media and education material," added Dr Singh
According to the National Aids Programme, about 5,000 people are now in a free treatment and care programme.
"I want to live, so that's why I dress and look fancy and you can't even tell that I have HIV," she said.
However, one of the biggest obstacles for the Guyanese government is how to stop further infections.
HIV is still the leading cause of death among people between the ages of 20 and 49, and the infection rate among commercial sex workers and men who have sex with men remains extremely high. source, source / (audio here)
By Emma Joseph
BBC World Service
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