The Government of Guyana has declared that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is a national priority. It has demonstrated through coordinated partnerships with local, regional, and international organizations its commitment to tackling the virus. According to the HIVISION 2020, the reduction of HIV/AIDS is a critical component of the Guyana Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, recognizing the economic impact of communicable diseases including HIV/AIDS and other STIs on general population. With the reduction in USAID/PEPFAR funding, the government is now expected to fill the gaps to ensure that the successes gained in the fight are not unravelled.
The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Guyana was over 7% in the 1990s, making it the second highest in the Caribbean just behind Haiti. Being impacted by the results of this widespread epidemic, civil society organisations (CSOs) were mobilized to combat this disease. With the advent of USAID/PEPFAR funding, these CSOs were supported and funded in capacity building and HIV/AIDS-related programming, which ultimately resulted in the decline of prevalence rate in the general population to 1.1% in 2011. Coming at a time when USAID/PEPFAR funding has significantly scaled back, the issues of sustainability and growth have become paramount for local NGOs.
The goal of NCC sustainability substantially focuses on the continual growth of the NCC via the following objectives:
Objective 1: To create a continuous wave of support for the NCC and its members’ causes.
Objective 2: To generate and promote community ownership for the work of health-related NGOs.
Objective 3: To foster an atmosphere of society civic-mindedness.
One component of the NCC’s sustainability drive involves multi-sectoral mobilisation which will include public service announcements (PSAs), social media campaigns, press releases, and newspaper articles. Additionally, community advocates will be identified by the NGOs and used as mechanisms within the individual public relations campaigns. It is envisioned that this multi-sectoral mobilisation strategy will initiate stakeholder buy-in and ownership in the current regions of operation, among potential partners, collaborators, and donors – whether local or international – seeking to implement aligned projects in Guyana.
