HIV/AIDS

The Caribbean Community today, 22 August 2002, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the William J Clinton Presidential Foundation in support of the Region's continuing efforts of fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The MOU recognises the commitment of CARICOM Member States to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic through integrated treatment care and prevention programmes, which has seen the adoption of a comprehensive strategy and road map for implementing the Regional treatment and care strategy.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana)     The Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) has signed an agreement with six pharmaceutical companies, which will allow the Caribbean Region to access cheaper anti retroviral drugs for the care and treatment of persons living with HIV/AIDS.

HIV/AIDS related law, ethics and human rights violations will be tackled by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as the region moves to address discriminatory practices against persons living with HIV/AIDS and their families. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) along with USAID will be lending financial support to the Community while the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network will provide technical assistance.

The Fourth Meeting of the Project Management Group responsible for "Strengthening the Institutional Response to HIV/AIDS/STI in the Caribbean (SIRHASC)" will be held at the Sunset Shores Hotel in St. Vincent and the Grenadines from 6-7 June 2002.

The Sixth Meeting of the Council for Social and Human Development (COHSOD) was held on 17-19 April 2002 in Georgetown, Guyana under the Chairmanship of the Hon. Dr. Douglas Slater, Minister of Health and the Environment, St Vincent and the Grenadines. The Meeting was attended by Dr the Hon. Jerome Walcott, Minister of Health, Barbados; Dr the Hon. Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Health, Guyana; the Hon. John Junor, Minister of Health, Jamaica; the Hon. Earl Martin, Minister of Health and the Environment, St Kitts and Nevis; the Hon.

Health officials from the United States Government will meet with Health Ministers of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Georgetown, Guyana, next week to determine a joint response against the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Region. This round of discussions will follow three days of deliberations by one of the Community's organs, the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD), at which forum the battle against the dreaded HIV/AIDS disease across the region will feature prominently among a wide range of critical issues.

At a meeting at the Hilton Hotel, Kingston Jamaica, on 18-19 February 2002, Health Ministers of the Caribbean countries held a successful round of discussions with representatives of leading pharmaceutical Companies on access to care for people living with HIV/AIDS in the Region. This meeting was the first stage in a process and comes close on the heels of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica developing their own national plans in partnership with United Nations agencies and the pharmaceutical industry.

The Fourth Meeting of the Project Advisory Group (PAG) for the European Union-funded project on "Strengthening the Institutional Response to HIV/AIDS/STI in the Caribbean" (SIRHASC) was held in Georgetown, Guyana on 15 February 2002. The Meeting was convened under the chairmanship of Assistant Secretary-General, Human and Social Development, Dr. Edward Greene who is also the Deputy Regional Authorising Officer (DRAO) for the Project.

The Ministry of Health, Jamaica will host the first in a series of regional meetings to discuss ways in which the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States can access cheaper anti-retroviral drugs to care for persons living with HIV/AIDS in the Region. The Meeting takes place on 18-19 February 2002, in the capital, Kingston.

The two-day Meeting will focus on negotiations with major international pharmaceutical companies, supplying anti-retroviral drugs to the Caribbean.

The Fourth Meeting of the Project Advisory Group (PAG) for the European Union-funded project on "Strengthening the Institutional Response to HIV/AIDS/STI in the Caribbean" will take place in Georgetown, Guyana, on Friday 15 February 2002. This regional project is being financed through the resources of the 8th European Development Fund in the amount of EUR 6.9 million and is executed by the CARICOM Secretariat. The overarching goal is to reduce the spread and impact of HIV/AIDS/STI in the 15 CARIFORUM Member States.