Today is Regional HIV testing day. Recently, senior medical officer Dr Anton Best announced there were about 2 700 people in Barbados living with HIV based on statistics from 2017. We flashback to a story which made headlines on April 23, 1990 when Briton, Dr Charles Shlosberg, predicted a grim future for the island.
By Pam Girton
Half of the entire population of Barbados, from age 10 to 60-plus, is in danger of dying from AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) in the next decade.
The grim conclusion has come from a British doctor who said he arrived at that number after learning of the sexual practices of 220 men and 70 women he talked with while at sir Winston Scott Polyclinic. He is due to return to England to England shortly, he said. He admitted his survey was small, but said one of two of those men and one of three of those women are at direct risk of dying of AIDS.
Dr Charles Shlosberg, a general practitioner, delivered his dissertation on Barbadians and AIDS to newspaper offices on Friday.
He said he was extremely concerned that Barbadians were not getting an accurate picture of the deadly virus that has so far left 89 dead.
He cited a male AIDS victim he treated, who was in his 40s, and claimed to have had 100 or more female partners in his life. 
He referred to a 22-year-old AIDS victim, who had countless episodes of gonorrhea, and, despite repeated advice, never used a condom.
“In the first eight week of this year alone, he had six female partners,” the doctor said.
His last reference was to a 19-year-old ma n who he said would die from AIDS in the next year or so.
“One of his girlfriends is definitely infected; another (who has his child) has had 200 or so male partners already and is only 16 years old.
“Barbados now is like a truck driving at full speed at a cliff edge won a dark night with the lights off. If the lights are put on now, it can escape with nothing worse than a bad squeal of brakes.
“If not, then the children of 2 000 will look back over the wreckage of the ‘90s and ask with every justification ‘why?’”
But the British doctor’s remarks have been dismissed by the chairman of the National AIDS Task Force, Professor Mickey Walrond.
“His survey was totally unscientific. It must be remembered that clinic (Sir Winston Scott) serves the red light district.
A top-level Ministry of Health official said Shlosberg had breached his contract with the Government of Barbados by disclosing the information from the clinic.
“The book will be thrown at him for this,” said the official.
