GREATER GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Prime Minister of the Republic of St.Kitts and Nevis and Chair of Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP), the Hon. Dr Denzil Douglas committed the Caribbean to the goal of universal access to prevention, care, treatment and support for every man, woman and child by 2010.
According to the Prime Minister, “by 2010 [the Caribbean] would have reaped the benefits of a harmonized international partnership” and “every country would have introduced supportive legislation and a policy framework to protect vulnerable populations, such as men who have sex with men, commercial sex workers and prisoners, the disabled and children.”
The Prime Minister who has the CARICOM portfolio for Health, including HIV/AIDS Human Resources was speaking on 2 June at the High-level Plenary Meeting on HIV/AIDS, at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York.
He identified international partnerships evidenced by alignment of programs and funding requirements, sustained international financing, prevention strategies and an increase in human resource capacity as necessary for the achievement of the goal of universal access.
Dr. Douglas also called for the eligibility criteria imposed by multilateral and bilateral agencies, which disqualify medium-income countries such as Barbados and The Bahamas from access to front line awards, to be challenged.
Since February 2004, there has been more than a 50 percent increase in the number of people living with HIV/AIDS on treatment in the Region. However access remains unequal across the Region.
