Five persons infected with HIV will receive house lots by the end of next year from the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA), Minister of Housing and Water, Harry Narine Nawbatt said on Thursday.

The minister said this is the CHPA's contribution to the AIDS response.

A release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said the minister made the announcement when his ministry formally joined the HIV response, at the 'Launching of the HIV Prevention and Control Programme in the Workplace' at Grand Coastal Inn.

According to the release, the minister said interventions such as the one with the house lots are to disseminate information and prevent the spread of the virus. He said the programme should not be restricted to the management and staff of the ministry but must include all stakeholders.

The GINA release said that the objective of the Guyana HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Project is to encourage the participation of line (non-health) ministries to slow the spread of the virus in Guyana and mitigate the effects of AIDS through prevention and care activities. The project supports activities focusing on prevention of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) through training, education and behaviour communication, condom distribution, information dissemination, treatment and care for the infected and their affected families and workplace policy formulation among others.

Patrick Mentore, who is the coordinator of the line ministry programme, said US$568,000 was spent under phase one of the project and encompassed seven ministries. He anticipated that over US$2 million will be spent over the life of the project which is funded by the World Bank.

According to the release, the ministries of Agriculture, Amerindian Affairs, Culture, Youth and Sports, Education, Home Affairs, Local Government and Regional Development, and Labour, Human Services and Social Security are already onboard the project.