A review of the Trinidad and Tobago National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan 2004-2008

Abstract

This paper presents a detailed review of the Trinidad and Tobago HIV/AIDS National Strategic Plan 2004-2008 (NSP), over the period 2004 to 2010. The NSP was developed to initiate an expanded response to the disease as well as to function as a decisive intervention in reducing the incidence and prevalence of the disease. The reality is that the NSP was developed within the context of the potential threat of HIV and AIDS to the socioeconomic base. The Plan was resourced based on the results of analyses which argued that the benefits of implementing the Plan outweighed the cost of so doing. This paper addresses the question of whether it made socioeconomic sense to invest the level of resources that were allocated to the HIV/AIDS NSP over the period 2004-2008.

The assessment included an evaluation of the costs and consequences of the interventions. Additionally, a comparison of the goals and objectives of the NSP and the actual results achieved was undertaken, so as to determine the impact of the plan.

The results show that the NSP achieved some of its objectives, particularly in the priority area of prevention. However, closer analyses indicate that the NSP was formulated against a weak health system platform, which proved to be a major challenge. In light of the challenges encountered in achieving the objectives, it is recommended that health sector reform measures be implemented to further curb the spread of HIV/AIDS in Trinidad and Tobago.