The 2005 Guyana HIV/AIDS Indicator Survey (GAIS) is the first household-based, comprehensive survey on HIV/AIDS to be carried out in Guyana. The 2005 GAIS was implemented by the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA) for the Ministry of Health (MoH). ORC Macro of Calverton, Maryland provided technical assistance to the project through its contract with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under the MEASURE DHS program. Funding to cover technical assistance by ORC Macro and for local costs was provided in their entirety by USAID/Washington and USAID/Guyana. The 2005 GAIS is a nationally representative sample survey of women and men age 15-49 initiated by MoH with the purpose of obtaining national baseline data for indicators on knowledge/awareness, attitudes, and behavior regarding HIV/AIDS. The survey data can be effectively used to calculate valuable indicators of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS), the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Orphan and Vulnerable Children unit (OVC), and the World Health Organization (WHO), among others. The overall goal of the survey was to provide program managers and policymakers involved in HIV/AIDS programs with information needed to monitor and evaluate existing programs; and to effectively plan and implement future interventions, including resource mobilization and allocation, for combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Guyana. Other objectives of the 2005 GAIS include the support of dissemination and utilization of the results in planning, managing and improving family planning and health services in the country; and enhancing the survey capabilities of the institutions involved in order to facilitate the implementation of surveys of this type in the future. The 2005 GAIS sampled over 3,000 households and completed interviews with 2,425 eligible women and 1,875 eligible men. In addition to the data on HIV/AIDS indicators, data on the characteristics of households and its members, malaria, infant and child mortality, tuberculosis, fertility, and family planning were also collected.
