ST.GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Health Minister Dr, Clarice Modeste is concerned about people who are wilfully transmitting the HIV virus to others and believes that legislation should be enacted to deal with them once there is evidence that a person is being exposed to the virus as a means of revenge.
“There are those who are saying when they discover their positive status, I am not going down alone,” she told the Parliament Wednesday while contributing to the 2013 budget debate.
Grenada recorded its first case of HIV/AIDS in 1984 and latest figures show that there are 485 cases.
Dr Modeste said that one of the goals of her Ministry is to strengthen the HIV programme in the area of public education.
“We cannot stop educating the people, we have to continue educating the public about protection, not just from HIV/AIDS but other health related ailments,” she said.
She said that the data is very encouraging with regards to people who are on treatment while most pregnant mothers who were diagnose and received that necessary treatment were able to deliver negative status babies.
“We have had 11 babies born to HIV mothers and of that figure nine are so far negative and while the result of two are pending,” she said.
Urging that all sexually active persons take the relevant precautions and actions to protect themselves from all forms of sexually transmitted disease, Dr Modeste called on the media to assist in educating the general public in that area.
“When I spoke to the team at the HIV programme, I was told that money is need for everything to be aired on the media, but I beg of the media to give some time even if its once a month towards educating the people about HIV,” she told legislators.
