Caribbean News
JAMAICA: HIV Positive Woman Turns Tragedy Into Life Mission
#Kingston, December 1, 2018 – Jamaica – Ten years ago, Karmen Josephs’* life was changed forever, when she was diagnosed with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). She tells JIS News that at the time, she was about two months pregnant, and had gone to the doctor for prenatal checks, which included a blood test for HIV.
“I did the HIV testing. When I went back with my partner, the doctor was looking for the result and couldn’t find 
it. When he eventually found the result, he held up a paper and I saw on the back of it ‘HIV positive’ and I thought ‘No! No! No! This is not me’,” she recalls.
“He (doctor) then said ‘I have some good news and some bad news for you. Which one do you want first?’ I said, give me any one of them. He said your HIV test came back and you are positive for HIV. I ran out of the office. My partner, who was sitting in the lobby, saw what was happening and ran after me, and we went back into the doctor’s office,” Ms. Josephs says.
She says that at the time, she did not know much about the disease, and after receiving bad medical advice, she decided to get an abortion.
“After the abortion, a different doctor took over my case and introduced me to an organization, where I was educated about HIV. I went to a workshop and I saw three pregnant females and I asked, ‘How are they pregnant and they are HIV positive’?
“When I was told that you can be pregnant with HIV and still have the baby, I was shocked,” Ms. Josephs tells JIS News.
A mother of two girls at the time, she says she felt that the child she aborted could have been the boy she desired.
Rather than wallowing in depression and self-pity at the decision she had made, Ms. Josephs decided to take action to reach women with HIV in order to prevent them from making the same mistake. She says that over the last five years, she has been counselling HIV patients to encourage them to live positive and healthy lives and take their medication. This work, she says, has become her life mission.
Ms. Josephs, who is virally suppressed, says she has no regrets about the path her life has taken.
“I have no regrets, no regrets at all, because knowing that I am educated now, I can now relate to females who are pregnant and are thinking that because they are HIV positive, they must do an abortion,” Ms. Josephs tells JIS News.
Her message to women who happen to become pregnant while they are HIV positive is, ‘take your medication. Your baby will be born without HIV as long as you stick to your medication and get regular health checks. HIV is not a death sentence. You can live a healthy life”.
The Ministry of Health has a programme in place to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, through which expectant women receive counselling and free medication.
Ms. Josephs points out that “there are a lot of organisations out there that will assist you and talk with you. Since I have done the abortion, and I am now educated, I’ve known a lot of women, especially young ladies, who are HIV positive and have babies that are negative and the mothers become virally suppressed. The virus is now sleeping in the body, and she is unable to pass on the virus to the baby or anyone else”.
Among these organisations is Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL), where Executive Director, Kandasi 
Levermore, says everyone is welcome to get testing, counselling and treatment services. JASL will be hosting a Candlelight Vigil at Carter Hall, St. Andrew, on Saturday (December 1), which is globally recognised as World AIDS Day.
This event will focus on remembering persons who have died from the HIV/AIDS, encouraging persons living with the disease to take their medication, and those who do not know their status, to get tested.
“The theme we are working with this year is ‘Know Your Status’, so we are really encouraging persons to come out and get tested,” Mrs. Levermore tells JIS News.
She says the JASL is open to educating and counselling persons who have been infected with HIV.
Contact can be made with JASL by calling 876-925-0021 and making an appointment.
* Name changed to protect identity.
Release: JIS
Contact: Ainsworth Morris
Photo: Ainsworth Morris
Photo Caption: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patient, Karmen Josephs* is provding counselling to pregant women and others with HIV.
KINGSTON, April 24 (JIS):
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has declared Jamaica a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) island with a vision of fostering innovation, driving economic growth, and empowering citizens to thrive in the global knowledge economy.
“Through our collaborative all-hands-on-deck approach, Government, private sector, academia and civil society, we will work towards this goal. Jamaica is now officially declared a STEM island,” he said.
Prime Minister Holness was addressing the Future Ready International Conference held at the University of Technology (UTech) in Kingston on April 24.
As a STEM island, he said that the Government will seek to implement comprehensive education reforms from the primary to the tertiary levels, with the objective of developing a skilled workforce, capable of competing in global markets.
He said that ecosystems will be developed to encourage startups, entrepreneurs, and innovators in the STEM disciplines to drive industry and economic growth, as well as to address social issues.
“We will encourage the growth of STEM industries such as biotechnology, information technology and advanced manufacturing. We will also leverage STEM to grow and monetise the musical, artistic, cultural and other natural talents of our people. We will leverage STEM solutions to address environmental challenges including climate change, renewable energy and sustainable agriculture,” the Prime Minister said.
“We will position Jamaica as a hub for STEM research, innovation, collaboration and other developments in the Caribbean and beyond,” he added.
The Prime Minister said that by embracing STEM as a national priority, Jamaica will unlock its full potential driving prosperity, peace and productivity in a sustainable, equitable way for all our Jamaican citizens and, indeed, the world,” Holness said.
KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.
This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.
“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.
He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).
Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.
“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.
“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.
Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.
Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.
The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.
The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.
NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.
CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON
-
Latin America and Caribbean1 week agoRegional SDGs Update
-
Crime1 week agoFollowing Court ruling, US Embassy Doubles Down on Warning: DO NOT TRAVEL TO TCI WITH GUNS, AMMO
-
Bahamas News1 week agoEnvironment State-Minister updates ‘Our Ocean’ forum on The Bahamas as SIDS leader in sustainable tourism
-
Bahamas News6 days agoPacesetting Cohort of Eleuthera Residents Graduate from Leading Light Programme
-
Bahamas News7 days agoNassau Cruise Port Donates Nearly $2 Million Towards Food Security
-
Caribbean News1 week agoRBC appoints new Head of Caribbean Banking
-
News1 week ago
“Mad Max” Convicted of Murder
-
Health5 days agoIncreased cases of Chicken Pox Prompts Ministry of Health and Human Services Response