FROM helping people who tested positive for HIV/AIDS to die with dignity, Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL) has moved to assisting people with the virus live a long and fruitful life.

“The organisation has grown from a very small NGO; until now we are the largest NGO, not just in Jamaica but in the Caribbean, that offers programmes around HIV and AIDS,” JASL Executive Director Kandasi Levermore told a recent Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange.

In its early days after it was established in 1991, the JASL’s main focus was providing palliative care for people living with AIDS, but 30 years later the non-governmental organisation has morphed into so much more.

“Then, we operated a hospice to offer palliative care as we had no medication and people were dying, so we wanted them to die with some dignity. Since then we have progressed where we continued to offer preventative information to the population around HIV, ensuring that there is an understanding of the epidemic, the risks and information on how the virus is transmitted,” Levermore told Observer editors and reporters.

“When we got HIV treatment available in Jamaica in the early 2000s the hospice became less important, so we no longer operate the hospice. But we pivoted to work all along the continuum of care where the organisation offers HIV prevention services…and HIV testing services,” she explained.

“We have a very robust treatment programme as well. We operate out of three geographic locations — Kingston, St Ann, and St James — and we operate clinics at all of our sites,” added Levermore as she underscored that the clinics provide a comprehensive treatment and case management system.

“The clinics provide for not just the medical needs of our clients but their psychosocial needs as well. So we have a very comprehensive programme of not just access to antiretroviral drugs, prescriptions or seeing a doctor, but we have a slate of professionals, including social workers, psychologists, case managers, and adherence councillors, who work with the people living with HIV to ensure that they are not only retained on treatment but that they get to viral suppression,” added Levermore.

Viral suppression is when HIV in the body is reduced to a very low level, which keeps the immune system working and prevents illness. This leaves the people living with HIV at little or no risk of passing on the virus to their partners.

Further, Levermore hopes to establish a chapter in the southern region to serve Clarendon, Manchester, and St Elizabeth as those are the areas from which JASL gets the most distress calls.

According to Levermore, the JASL has also moved into advocacy around the policy and legislative issues that keep its clients from accessing the services that they need to live their best lives.

“We want to ensure that our clients are empowered to access services while holding State actors accountable to ensure that there is the provision of services in a manner that upholds people’s rights and their dignity,” declared Levermore.

She noted that 942 people living with HIV are now in the care of JASL with high-level professionals providing quality service to them.

Operating with mainly grant funding, JASL now pulls in approximately US$3 million each year to keep it going.

“We have created the space from which many other NGOs have been born,” declared a beaming Levermore .

To mark its 30th year under the theme ‘Resilient at 30!’ JASL had a church service; participated in an International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women Silent Protest, and staged a HIV Treatment Public Forum.

The celebrations continue today with a World AIDS Day virtual fair, World AIDS Day community interventions, and the annual candlelight vigil. Tomorrow JASL will open its pharmacy, which will serve as a one-stop shop for clients.