CARICOM reinforces its commitment to the ongoing fight against HIV/AIDS

Greater Georgetown, Guyana The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is committed to continuing its role in advancing the fight against the scourge of HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean.

This commitment was given by the Deputy Secretary-General of CARICOM, Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite to the gathering at the opening ceremony of the Sixth Annual General Meeting of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) taking place in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), over the next two days.

Under the theme Defining the PANCAP Strategic Agenda: Planning for the Future, this Sixth Meeting, which ends on 10th November, reviews the journey of PANCAP over its initial five years – its achievements, opportunities, prospects and challenges; provides an update on the current situation with respect to the implementation of policies, plans and programs and the strategic priorities of PANCAP for the next five years.”

The Deputy Secretary-General, who noted that it cannot be business as usual, urged that the decision-making of the meeting be anchored by empirical data rather than by anecdotal information. “I advocate pragmatism over sentimentality, and I exhort boldness over pandering to the status quo… in this call to arms,” she said.

In the feature address delivered by the Hon. Dr. Orlando Smith, Chief Minister of the BVI, delegates were once again reminded of the bleak state of the epidemic in the Region, notwithstanding some glimpses of hope.

Reiterating that the epidemic was not just a health problem, but a social one involving all sectors, he urged that especially in a region with so many small states, a network such as PANCAP is essential to the collective fight against HIV and AIDS.

The Chief Minister paid tribute to CARICOM for its role in coordinating the network over the past five years and in this regard, singled out Dr. Edward Greene, Assistant Secretary-General Human and Social Development whom he described as “an asset to the Caribbean and a hero in the fight against HIV and AIDS.”

Among the delegation to this meeting, are several ministers of government, including the Hon. Dr Bernard Nottage Minister of Health, the Bahamas, Hon. Dr. Jerome Walcott, Minister of Health Barbados, Hon. Ronnie Skelton, Minister of Health, St. Kitts and Nevis, Hon. Rupert Herbert and a number of high level officials from the various members of PANCAP.

A seven-member delegation from Central Asia which has adopted the PANCAP model is also among the approximately 100 participants and includes a Deputy Prime Minister, a Minister and Deputy Minister of Health and the Regional Director of HIV and AIDS programming.

This is the first statutory meeting of PANCAP to be held in an OCT, and according to Mr Carl Browne, Director of the PANCAP Coordinating Unit and Chairman of the Opening Ceremony, ”the convening of the meeting in the BVI signals the new strategic directions of PANCAP in deepening its relations with the OCTs.”