In 2020-2021, the Joint Team in Guyana partnered with various stakeholders to scale up sexual and reproductive health and HIV education and services among adolescent and young people, including adolescent mothers in targeted administrative regions through awareness raising campaigns, community dialogues and training of healthcare workers. School teachers and peer educators were also trained to improve the quality of comprehensive sexuality education. The Joint Team supported peer navigators to provide psychosocial services for mothers and children living with HIV; and implemented food support and antiretroviral treatment delivery programmes to improve their access and adherence to treatment. In collaboration with the Government and civil society organisations, integrated gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health services were expanded to survivors of violence and their families in health facilities and humanitarian settings as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic. Various community members, including survivors of gender-based violence were sensitized on how to access available services while law enforcement officers were trained to improve their understanding of human rights and HIV.
HIV prevention among young people and key populations
The Ministry of Health was assisted technically by the Joint Team in developing the Adolescent and Youth-Friendly Health Service Delivery Standards and Adolescent Health Services Delivery Guidelines which include the delivery of quality sexual and reproductive health and HIV services for adolescent and young people in Guyana. These documents were subsequently integrated into the Government’s Family Health Manual and improved action plans were made available in targeted healthcare facilities in two administrative regions (Barima Waini and Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo). Technical support was further provided to revise the action plans based on the adolescent health standards in eight health facilities.
Under the India-UN Development Partnership Fund, the Joint Team supported the Ministry of Health to provide sexual and reproductive health education and services and disseminate information on integrated gender equality and gender-based violence prevention and response reaching 7000 adolescent boys and girls in selected secondary schools in the above-mentioned administrative regions. Additionally, 100 adolescents were trained as peer educators while 58 healthcare workers received capacity building training on the delivery of sexual and reproductive health services.
The Adolescent Health Unit at the Ministry of Health was assisted to expand its adolescent health programme and services to rural and hinterland communities in two administrative regions (Pomeroon-Supenaam and Potaro-Siparuni). A total of 15 peer educators were also trained to support health centres in the implementation of programmes tailored for adolescent mothers and general adolescent health services.
The Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association was supported to expand HIV combination prevention and sexual and reproductive health services for vulnerable young people and key populations in Demerara-Mahaica and Essequibo Islands-West Demerara regions. These services were also offered to Venezuelan migrants and refugees and Guyanese migrants returning from Venezuela who face several hurdles in accessing sexual and reproductive health services, such as discrimination, lack of resources, language barriers, and a lack of knowledge about available services. Overall, the initiative reached 1370 young people and women, and 517 individuals form the LGBTI community.
The Joint Team also collaborated with the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association for the recruitment of five peer educators and two peer navigators to provide risk reduction sessions and referral support. The peer educators and navigators were responsible for providing beneficiaries with information on the prevention of HIV and other STIs; guidance on how to access health services; and referrals for testing, treatment and care of HIV and STIs, and other health services. Male and female condoms were distributed during demonstration sessions.
In addition, the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association conducted a social media campaign, which reached 9643 people on Facebook and Instagram, promoting HIV combination prevention in youth-friendly services. The campaign was also used to sensitize relevant stakeholders, including healthcare providers on the rights of adolescents and young people from key population groups to access sexual and reproductive health services in line with the recently approved national sexual and reproductive health policy. Additionally, with financial and technical support from the Joint Team, several training and awareness raising workshops were conducted reaching more than 120 adolescents and young people to improve their knowledge around HIV, sexually transmitted infections, sexual and reproductive health, and life skills.
To improve the delivery of quality comprehensive sexuality education in Guyana, the Joint Team supported capacity building sessions for 35 teachers and school-based peer educators; group dialogue sessions for 60 men and boys in eight targeted communities; awareness raising sessions that reached 100 parents and 50 community and traditional leaders and council members; and community parenting and support groups engaging 500 Parent Teacher Association members in four of the eight targeted health facilities. These initiatives further benefited an estimated 6000 people, such as the residents of the project implementation area.
HIV treatment and support
To mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Joint Team supported the distribution of antiretroviral therapy to ensure continued access to medicines and follow up of people living with HIV on treatment. Support was also provided in 2021 to train three case navigators to provide psychosocial support to mothers and children living with HIV, especially pregnant women and mothers living with HIV who defaulted from care and treatment.
In partnership with the Family Awareness Consciousness Togetherness (FACTS), the Joint Team provided food baskets for 80 people living with HIV and their families whose livelihoods were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in region 6 (East Berbice – Corentyne). Additionally, 470 people living with HIV and persons from key populations and LGBTI community received nutritional support through a partnership with the National AIDS Programme and the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) during the pandemic.