The initiative is called the HIV Prevention and Effective Condom Social Marketing Strategy.
The AIDS Secretariat has partnered with The Bahamas Loving Care Association as well as a group of taxi drivers to emphasize the importance of knowing one’s status.
In fact, Director of the National AIDS Programme Rosa Mae Bain said everyone in the country should be tested.
"We need every single Bahamian to know if they are HIV positive or not. If they are not HIV positive then they can do things to not become HIV positive. If they are, they can get care and medication, and they can live a productive life," she said. "We’ve been having individuals dying prematurely because they didn’t know their status."
According to Ms. Bain, in 2002, 300 persons were on medication for HIV/AIDS. As of December 11, 2008, 1,700 persons are on medication.
Between August 1985 and March 31, 2008, a total of 11,303 people tested positive for HIV/AIDS.
According to Nurse Bain, of this figure, 5,600 people tested positive for HIV while the remaining 5,703 went on to develop full-blown AIDS. At last count, 5,582 people were living in The Bahamas with HIV compared with the 1,767 infected with AIDS, for a total of 7,349 in various stages of illness.
"Our concern is of the 7,000 persons still living [with the virus] only a third of them are on medications. Granted, everyone doesn’t need to be medication if his or her immune system is still strong, but you need to be in care so that we would know if [the strength of the immune system] is falling," she said.
Ms. Bain said the government spends in excess on $1 million on medications.
Up to the end of March 2008, 88 new cases were reported; 51 of those infected were male and 37 were female.
President of the Loving Care Association Samuel Williams made a special appeal to businesspersons to support the initiative.
"I’m asking all the business places in this country to issue some money to the AIDS Foundation so that they can go to every school in this country and send this message out. This is very serious now," he said. "We need it at the schools, College of The Bahamas, and all the Family Islands."
Richard Johnson, also of the Bahamas Loving Care Association, said he doesn’t feel many people take the epidemic seriously.
"A lot of people deny the fact and it has caught up with us," he said. "We can prevent this disease from spreading. So it is incumbent on all of us to do whatever we can to bring the message to those who believe that it will not affect them. So with the help of international organizations helping us we can get the message across."
Ms. Bain said she believes Bahamians can beat the epidemic.
"We need to look at the masses. We need to address the country at large," she said. "Are we using protection? Are we sure about our partners? And in the midst of all this we have to remember that we do not get HIV/ AIDS from casual contact. We need not to point fingers, but to lend a helping hand."
The first case of HIV/AIDS was reported in The Bahamas in 1983.
The victim was reportedly a female in her early 30s. Health officials only realized the woman suffered from HIV/AIDS two years later.
In 1988, the National AIDS Foundation was formed.
