Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PAHO/WHO Sub-regional Office for the Caribbean collaborated with the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) on a series of webinars which aimed to provide effective, timely and relevant information to the Caribbean on a wide range of topics relating to COVID-19 and HIV. The webinars were aimed at diverse audiences and served to provide updates on new scientific evidence and to share evidence-based frameworks and strategies as well as successful and innovative implementation experiences for the prevention and management of COVID-19.

PANCAP and PAHO have been intentional in combining presenters who are experts in technical areas with regional presenters on successful Caribbean implementation experiences. This approach provided an understanding of evidence-based frameworks and how these can be applied to the local context.

The webinars conducted from March to May 2020 have reached over 10,000 persons.  Participants have the option of joining the live sessions or viewing the recording on the PANCAP and PAHO Facebook pages as well as the PANCAP website and YouTube Channel.  Participants’ engagement with the webinars has been high. Organisers have received positive feedback on the relevance of the knowledge shared and the expertise of the presenters. A recent post-webinar survey revealed that 98.5% of participants gained new knowledge, while 100% indicated that the information presented was useful to their work.  In addition, 95% of participants stated that they would utilise the new knowledge in the execution of their work programmes.

The two entities will continue this successful collaboration with the overarching aim of providing critical knowledge for the Region’s response to COVID-19.