By Andrea Downer, Journalist
MEXICO CITY – About seven million people in Latin America and the Caribbean are to benefit from Red Cross’ HIV Global Alliance for that region. The Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched the program on August 1, 2008, two days before the opening of the 17th International AIDS Conference being held in Mexico City from August 3-8, 2008.
Dr. Mukesh Kapila, Special Representative of the Secretary General for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, IFRC, told Panos Caribbean shortly after the launch, that the initiative aims to raise approximately US$22.4 million to scale up HIV and AIDS programs in the Americas .
“The initiative will start with 10 countries, Jamaica , Argentina , Belize , Colombia , Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Guyana , Haiti and Honduras ,” he said, adding that the program will expand to more countries in the Americas in the coming years.
“The Global Alliance on HIV uses an approach based on the community that is unique, because it includes prevention, care, treatment and reduction of stigma and discrimination and seeks to increase Red Cross’ efforts in decreasing vulnerability to HIV and its impact on people,” Dr. Kapila explained.
The program will continue to build on and strengthen existing partnerships with National HIV/AIDS Response Programs in the 10 countries, with a special focus on vulnerable groups including, Men who have sex with Men (MSMs), Children Orphaned and made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS (OVCs), Prisoners, and special groups such as members of the military.
Deputy Director General & Senior Director of Youth and HIV/STI Programs, Lois Hue, was among several representatives from Red Cross Societies around the world, that met in Mexico City ahead of the AIDS conference to revise the national plans of the different countries and share what they have accomplished to date. Mrs. Lue was happy that the IFRC’s HIV Global Alliance had been officially launched and had high expectations of what it would achieve in Jamaica and the region.
“Our Red Cross is excited about the Global Alliance, because it means we have developed and agreed to one single set of objectives, one single set of targets and one monitoring mechanism. It is in line with what we want in Red Cross globally and what we want in Jamaica . It enables us to carry out those objectives and reach more targets and do better work.”
The IFRC’s will also focus on the military as part of its HIV Global Alliance Initiative. In some countries (such as Latin America and the Caribbean) the military faces increased vulnerability to contracting and transmitting HIV depending on how they are used in various countries such as Latin America and the Caribbean.
Marie Louise Belanger, Regional Communication Officer, for Mexico, Central America and Panama, explained that the focus on and the inclusion of the military in the program is linked to the military’s role in countries in the region with borders and where military is posted and in many cases, separated from their families. In addition, soldiers are an integral part of disaster recovery efforts in the region. She said the soldiers sometimes form intimate liaisons with persons from the communities close to where they are posted and with whom they interact.
“This is the case in countries such as Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, and Guyana,” she explained.
Mrs. Hue pointed out that the soldiers in Jamaica are involved in a number of social programs in inner-cities and noted that apart from those interactions, it is important to target them in HIV/AIDS intervention program as special group.
The Global HIV Alliance aims to double Red Cross Red Crescent’s programming in targeted communities’ worldwide to reach at least 137 million beneficiaries by 2010. Dr. Kapila said Red Cross’ distinct advantage is that they not only have access to decision makers, but the society’s volunteers work directly with communities and beneficiaries in providing them with support and care.
UNAIDS estimates that of the 33.6 million people living with HIV worldwide, about 1.6 million are in Latin America . HIV prevalence in the Caribbean is 1% and continues to be the second most affected region in the world after Sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS remains one of the leading causes of death among young people in the Caribbean , and an estimated 11,000 people in the region died from AIDS in 2007.
Approximately 17,000 new HIV infections were reported in the region in 2007 and while HIV is spread primarily through heterosexual sex in the Caribbean , sex between men is also an important factor. However, stigma and discrimination towards Men who have sex with Men makes it difficult to reach those in that group and this increases their risk of contracting the virus.
The IRC will have a booth and several displays at the International AIDS Society’s 17th International Conference on HIV/AIDS being held in Mexico City .
