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Guyana to roll out HIV self-testing

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Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony on Tuesday announced that Guyanese would be allowed to self-test for the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and that more at-risk persons would be given preventative drugs.

“Another area we want to look at is self-testing. This is relatively new and it has been advocated around the world and some countries have implemented it with relatively good success and this is one of the areas that is, of course, we would like to put in place here in Guyana,” he said.

The Health Minister gave no specific time-frame by which self-testing would actually start in Guyana.

He made the announcements in an address to stakeholders at the launch of the HIV National Strategic Plan. which aims to bridge past achievements with the objective of ending the disease by 2030. The Minister also disclosed that Guyana would be submitting a proposal to the Global Fund  for support to fight disease.

The Health  Minister said a “more comprehensive” Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) programme would be rolled out this year to build on the introduction of the prevention that was introduced last year to target couples one of whom is HIV positive and the other is not. “We want to take that a step further so that anybody who is at risk , they would be able to access PrEP so this is something that in the next year that we will see a better roll-out of  and to ensure that this is at all of our clinics and that we can work with all of our stakeholders to ensure that this also available in the services that they provide,” he said.

Dr. Anthony said Guyana has been suffering from a lag in two of the three areas identified globally by UNAIDS for bringing the viral disease under control as far as knowing one’s status, receiving antiretroviral therapy and suppressing the disease all by 2020.

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He said statistics show that 94 percent of HIV positive persons in Guyana know their status, 73 percent of them have been tested and on treatment and the virus has been suppressed in 75 percent of them.  In that regard, he remarked that, “we still have a lot of work to be done over the next five years,”

The Health Minister noted that weaknesses in the fight against HIV included stock-outs of reagents that have adversely affected tests, treatment and care. He hoped that this could be remedied through proper quantification by clinical staff and procurement. “While we fix existing problems, we also have to look forward to how we can improve and also use new methodologies to ensure that we can get to those targets by 2025,” he said.

Dr. Anthony said “more effective” antiretroviral therapies  were being rolled out along with comorbidities such as tuberculosis as well as fighting other sexually transmitted diseases including the human-papilloma virus that causes cervical cancer. — This article was first published by Demerara Waves

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]