While T&T has seen a significant reduction in mother to child HIV transmissions, legislation for private institutions to supply statistics on HIV and Aids transmissions is being reviewed by the Attorney General. The statement was made by Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Rodger Samuel as he spoke to the media during a briefing session on the UN 2011 High Level Meeting on Aids. The briefing took place at Samuel's office, Nicholas Towers, Independence Square, Port-of-Spain. Samuel also revealed that Tobago had reached zero per cent in transmission of the disease from mother to child while Trinidad was down to three per cent.
He said the goal was to allow for zero per cent of transmission from mother to child by 2015. The minister said statistics provided could not be completely reliable as private institutions did not provide statistics on patients who were tested privately. He said it was necessary in the fight against HIV for every testing agency to provide statistics. Samuel said the legislation would form part of the legal framework for a statutory body on HIV and Aids and should be on stream within a few months. He said the goal was for T&T to become leaders in the Caribbean in the fight against HIV and Aids.
Samuel said that though the Caribbean was still second to sub-Saharan Africa in terms of HIV transmissions, actual transmissions had been reduced by 14 per cent, while deaths caused by HIV and Aids were down by 43 per cent. He described the upcoming UN meeting, scheduled for June 8 to 11, as a forum where T&T would be able to learn from the experience of the world. He said the country would benefit from the talks on new technology, inventions and approaches in HIV and Aids treatment.
Family Planning Association co-ordinator, Dona Martinez, said though T&T had made key successes in terms of a strategic national plan for HIV and Aids, the focus on prevention remained important. She said it was necessary to zero in on the marginalised population, such as men who had sex with men and sex workers. She noted that enough was not being done in terms of education and information for young people. "When the young people are knowledgeable they can make informed choices," she said.