EDITORIAL: No time to be complacent
We are now being told that the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed over 390 000 people in the Americas, is threatening regional plans to eliminate and control infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), HIV, hepatitis and many others.
Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, Director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and WHO Regional Director for the Americas, raised the alarm recently. Etienne stressed that countries must balance their COVID-19 response with maintaining essential services to manage and prevent infectious diseases. Noting that countries can’t delay the fight against COVID-19, she however maintained that at the same time, they must not let COVID-19 delay them in completing their unfinished agenda of eliminating and controlling infectious diseases from the region.
Just recently, Cecelia Murray, Behaviour Change Specialist with the National HIV/AIDS Commission here in Barbados, sent a gentle reminder that focus must not only be on COVID-19 alone, but she also pointed out that Barbadians should get their relevant health checks done as well to ensure they are in the best of health. Her comments came as the HIV/AIDS Commission teamed up with the Men’s Health Group at the Eunice Gibson Polyclinic, to distribute healthy food such as fruits and vegetables, ground provisions and other goodies to patients attending the clinic. The Commission also handed out HIV/AIDS pamphlets and condoms and was on hand to answer any health related questions members of the public had.
“We’re encouraging persons to come and get their checks done, because we recognise now the focus is on COVID, but you still have to be tested for HIV, you still have to be tested for diabetes, hypertension. You still have to make sure that you come to get your dressing and your medication. All those are things that we want to encourage,” Murray indicated.
Dr. Etienne meanwhile has pointed to issues in delivering TB treatments during the pandemic, noting that challenges were reported by 80 per cent of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, which could turn manageable cases of TB into active infections. Similarly, 30 per cent of people living with HIV are avoiding seeking care and antiretroviral medications are in limited supply, she said. Disruptions in hepatitis screenings – key for detection and treatment – were also reported by a third of the countries. The PAHO Director recalled that preventing and treating infectious diseases was the impetus for creating the Pan American Health Organisation nearly 120 years ago, and the region remains at the forefront of the elimination of infectious diseases. Indeed, in October 2019, PAHO’s Member States committed to a region-wide approach to the elimination of more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions in the Americas by 2030, she added.
Etienne said, “The progress to achieving this milestone is now under threat, due to the burden of COVID-19 on health systems, and the disruption of essential services, including priority disease control programmes, elimination initiatives and routine immunisation.”
Further, she also pointed out that dengue and malaria remain a huge burden on health services and, like COVID-19, have a disproportionate impact on poor and vulnerable populations.
Thus, even as we go forward in tackling this pandemic, we here in Barbados must not become complacent when it comes to keeping up the fight against infectious diseases. We should take note of the above and act accordingly.