AIDS pandemic threatens economic growth
With most of the region’s economies still limping along in the aftermath of 9-11 and the ensuing global recession, representatives of Caribbean governments were today given more bad news. They were informed that even modest growth rates could be cut to zero by the skyrocketing demands of health care and lost productivity caused by the AIDS pandemic. News 5’s Patrick Jones reports from the Princess Hotel.
Dr. James St. Catherine, U.N.F.P.A Advisor, HIV/AIDS
“So twenty years down the line our first approach to prevention using the medical model is not working. See the medical model depends on the fact that you should have an effective treatment and cure that’s available, or a vaccine. In the absence of these two things, you realize that the model was almost dead in the water before it started.”
Patrick Jones, Reporting
With that grim prognosis, regional delegates to the conference on HIV/AIDS today discussed the impact of the disease on the Caribbean’s public sector. According to James St. Catherine of the United Nations Population Fund, two decades into the epidemic the Caribbean has yet to develop a strategic plan.
Dr. James St. Catherine
“What it means therefore is that if we are susceptible, and in most cases we are, because our economies are really economies which are of developing countries, which means that we are in debt, which means that our ability to provide more resources in terms of the challenges posed by AIDS is just not sufficient or is not gong to be sufficient. And in large measure we have to cooperate with the international community to help us in this direction.”
But in order to benefit from such cooperation, St. Catherine says the strategic plan must be in place. A recent study conducted by the economics unit of the University of the West Indies indicates some countries in our region will especially be hit hard if the situation of HIV/AIDS is not brought under control.
Dr. James St. Catherine
“So what we’re looking at really is an economic crunch, which says as your capacity to respond goes down because of AIDS, your requirements to deal with it is going up. And that is where the crunch lies. So my advice would be, let us act quickly so that at the macro level we provide the service which can be used to allow the individuals to have less of an experience with AIDS and more of a healthy existence.”
In the case of Belize, where over nine thousand people are employed in the public sector, the toll of the epidemic on the nation’s development could be devastating.
Dr. James St. Catherine
“HIV/AIDS is going to reduce on the productivity, because it does so in different ways. As you know one, if you’re sick, you really ain’t going to work and two if you’re dead, it means someone has to replace you or the job doesn’t get done. And in societies like ours where you have scarcity of high level skills and competence, to lose one person, especially in one person or two persons departments, which most of us have, is really a big deal.”
Patrick Jones for News 5.
Discussions on the impact of AIDS on the public sector will continue for one more day. Suggestions for strategic plan will be compiled and forwarded to regional governments for consideration.
