In Barbados, there are 185 registered new cases of HIV/AIDS every year, and this, Minister of Education and Human Resource Development Ronald Jones said, was “worrisome and cause for great concern”.Giving an address at the AIDS Foundation of Barbados Incorporated’s first awards ceremony at Sandy Lane Resort on Saturday, Jones said while Barbados had made considerable progress in reducing the transmission of AIDS from mother to child and prolonging lives, people should not become complacent.“We still have about quarter-million people living with HIV/AIDS in the region. In Barbados there are 185 registered new cases every year. We therefore need to be more strategic and aggressive in our response,” Jones said.He also pledged continued support from Government to halt the spread of the virus, noting Government was in the process of reforming existing policies relating to HIV/AIDS testing.“We are also in the process of developing other strategies to encourage more people to come forward to be tested without encroaching on their internationally recognised rights. We are also committed to garnering more resources into research for possible cures.“It is for this reason we are amending the legislation surrounding . . . philanthropic giving by family and friends of Barbados at home and abroad,” he said.Chairman of the AIDS Foundation, Colin Brewer, said while the foundation was making progress in the fight, there was still much to do.“We are in a crisis. The rate of HIV infection continues to rise in Barbados and the drain on our national health services is enormous. The stigma that surrounds the virus gives an impression that the virus is not as prevalent as health workers and people working in the field know it to be,” said Brewer.He added that although the foundation provided assistance to those living alternative lifestyles, it did not condone the behaviour.He also urged those present to “rededicate” themselves to the challenge of eradicating any stigma associated with HIV.A number of organisations were recognised for their contribution to the fight against the deadly disease, including the Nation Corporation, Cave Shepherd & Co. Ltd, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Scotiabank.
