Staff shortages threaten HIV, wellbeing response

A shortage of staff at the National Wellbeing and HIV Commission is putting Barbados’ response to HIV and broader wellbeing challenges at risk, the commission’s chairman warned, as he called for urgent action to boost human resources at a major research symposium.

Reverend Anderson Kellman, head of the commission’s advisory committee, issued a fresh call for increased staffing, warning that the commission’s ability to respond effectively to the country’s HIV and wellbeing challenges could be compromised without adequate human resources.

Speaking on Tuesday at the Eighth HIV Research Symposium at the Courtyard by Marriott, Reverend Kellman stressed the importance of accurate, ongoing research to drive effective behavioural interventions, warning that progress could stall without the right human resources.

“We seek to eliminate any of those planks in the equation. Chances are we’re not going to make as valuable an intervention as we possibly could,” he told attendees. “We believe that the behavioural interventions have to be driven by accurate and relevant information. And that’s why we’re here today—because we want to make sure that we keep researching, we keep understanding the dynamics of this illness so we can have the correct information to make that important intervention.

“We’ve just added national wellbeing to the HIV and AIDS Commission. And so it means that our remit has grown and our staff has remained the same.”

He continued: “I want to renew a call for increased staffing in the commission. And I’m sure that our director will be in agreement with this call—because the work continues. HIV/AIDS is already a major responsibility and to add national wellbeing to it obviously makes it a lot more challenging.”

Reverend Kellman also directed his appeal to Mark Franklin, permanent secretary of the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, who attended the symposium: “He’s listening very attentively and I’m sure he has the ears of many people who will commit as a possibility in terms of increased staffing for the National Wellbeing and HIV Commission.”

The symposium, held under the theme, Through the Looking Glass: Exploring Society’s Most Vulnerable, brought together researchers, civil society advocates, policymakers and frontline workers to examine stigma and discrimination as barriers to effective HIV response.

Acting Director of the National Wellbeing and HIV Commission, Lynn Armstrong, described stigma as “a formidable adversary” despite scientific breakthroughs.

“It, with unbelievable consistency, continues to silence voices, delay diagnoses, interrupt treatment, and fracture the very families and communities we serve,” she said. “Stigma doesn’t just harm individuals. It undermines decades of public health progress, reverses economic gains, and perpetuates a level of social destruction that goes far beyond the disease.”

Armstrong urged participants to confront uncomfortable truths and engage in “honest conversations about what isn’t working”, while aiming to generate collaborative and practical responses.

“Let discussions from today challenge, encourage, and furnish us with practical solutions,” she said.

Franklin underscored the far-reaching consequences of HIV-related stigma, noting that it not only affects health outcomes but also perpetuates cycles of marginalisation.

“Stigma doesn’t just hurt feelings. It shapes outcomes,” he warned. “It leads to poor adherence to treatment, avoidance of testing, and in too many cases, social and economic exclusion.”

He added: “It drives people underground, especially those already living on the margins—men who have sex with men, sex workers, transgender persons, and persons living with HIV. These persons are not just statistics. They are our friends, our neighbours, our colleagues, and our family members, and they deserve dignity, respect and support.” (SZB)