Release Type: News Article

PANCAP relaunched the Champions for Change initiative after an eleven-year hiatus. The two-day event was be held from Tuesday, September 12 to Wednesday, September 13 at the Guyana Marriott Hotel, Georgetown, Guyana. The keynote speaker was the Rt. Hon. Sir Charles Michael Dennis Byron, President of the Caribbean Court of Justice.

Below are profiles of each of the new Champions.

Sandra Marie Granger, First Lady of Guyana 

Guyana’s First Lady was recognized for outstanding leadership and championing of the ‘Every Caribbean Woman Every Caribbean Child’ Initiative and stellar work in improving the lives of children and women in Guyana.

Profile

Sandra Marie Granger is the First Lady of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. Since becoming First Lady, she has immersed herself in activities aimed at improving the lives of the most vulnerable sectors of the Guyanese population. She is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Forum of First Ladies and Spouses of Heads of Government, which focusses on reducing adolescent pregnancy, cervical cancer, mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and domestic violence in the Caribbean. She is a Champion of the Every Caribbean Woman Every Caribbean Child Initiative and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation’s School Feeding Programme. She holds two Bachelor of Arts Degrees in English Literature and in Portuguese, respectively, from the University of Guyana.

Dr Allyson Leacock

Dr Allyson Leacock was recognized for leadership as Executive Director of LIVE UP: The Caribbean Media Alliance and championing the HIV response in the Caribbean.

Profile 

Dr Allyson Leacock is the Executive Director of LIVE UP: The Caribbean Media Alliance. She has 34 years of experience in executive management and has been involved in all aspects of broadcast media for 40 years. For the past 10 years, Dr Leacock has led a coalition of 112 Media Houses in 24 Caribbean countries as part of the LIVE UP Campaign, training over 2000 Caribbean broadcasters. She is currently on the Executive Board of the Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI) and served 4 years as Chairman of the Global Steering Committee for the World AIDS Campaign. Her professional training includes both Masters and Ph.D. Degrees in Educational Technology from Concordia University, Canada.

Dr Arif Bulkan 

Dr Arif Bulkan  was recognised for leadership in advancing the University Rights Advocacy Project and creating a safe space for LGBT students at The University of the West Indies.

Profile

Dr Arif Bulkan is an attorney-at-law who formerly practiced law in Guyana as a prosecutor and then criminal defence lawyer. He has a PhD in Law from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Canada, and currently lectures constitutional law and human rights law in the Faculty of Law of the St Augustine Campus of The University of the West Indies. As a consultant for PANCAP, Arif Bulkan produced a National Assessment on laws and policies impacting on HIV and AIDS in Guyana. He is a co-founder of The University of the West Indies Rights Advocacy Project [U-RAP], which aims to promote human rights, equality and social justice in the Caribbean through litigation and advocacy. He was conferred with the Anthony N. Sabga Award for Public and Civic Contributions in 2017.

Canon Garth Minott 

Canon Garth Minott was recognized for significant work and advocacy towards greater involvement of the faith community in national and regional HIV responses.

Profile 

Canon Garth Minott is the Canon of the Cathedral in the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, a member of the Religious Groups Steering Committee of the Jamaica Council of Churches and Chair of the board of directors of the Jamaica AIDS Support for Life and the Regional Faith Based Organisation Steering Committee to end AIDS by 2030.  He lectures in the field of Practical Theology at the United Theological College of the West Indies, where he served as Deputy President for a two-year term. A graduate of the University of the West Indies and McGill University, Canon Minott has published articles in the Journal of Caribbean History, Groundings, and, the Journal for the Network of African Theological Institutions. His most recent publication was titled “Living by faith in challenging times: A Caribbean view on what it means to say ‘God will take care of us.” He is the recipient of the CIBC RBC Bank Unsung Hero Award for his work in the area of HIV and AIDS.

Dr Frank Anthony 

Dr Frank Anthony was recognized for outstanding work in public health and demonstrated understanding of the critical role that parliamentarians can play in ending AIDS.

Profile  

Dr Frank Anthony is a Member of Parliament and serves on the parliamentary management committee and the parliamentary standing committee on constitutional reform in Guyana. He has worked in the public health sector from 1993 to 2006 as a physician, epidemiologist and Executive Director of the Health Sector Development Unit, Ministry of Health, Guyana. Dr Anthony was the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports a position he held from 2006 to 2015. He is currently in private medical practice. He is also an adjunct professor in epidemiology at the University of Guyana and a member of the Guyana Medical Council. Dr Anthony received has a Medical Degree from the Russian Peoples Friendship University and a Masters in Public Health from the Hebrew University, Israel.

Dwayne Gutzmer 

Dwayne Gutzmer was recognised for leadership of the CARICOM Youth Ambassador Corps and youth advocacy.

Profile 

Dwayne Gutzmer is the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Law & Economics (ILE) with direct responsibilities for the Business Entrepreneurial Empowerment Programme (BEEP) & the Urban Lab for Youth Innovation Projects. He has served as President of the Junior Chamber International, Jamaica and Dean of the CARICOM Youth Ambassador Programme. Dwayne is the co-author of the “Caribbean Youth Advocacy Guide, A Road to Development”. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computing and Information Technology from the University of Technology, Jamaica, and a Masters in Business Administration with special focus in Finance from the University of Wales, UK.

Joel Simpson

Joel Simpson was recognised for advocacy work against sexual orientation discrimination in Guyana and regionally.

Profile

Joel Simpson is the founder and Managing Director of the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) in Guyana. He has served as the UNESCO Human Rights Researcher at the HIV Education Unit at the University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad and Human Rights Associate at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country office in Guyana. He currently serves as the secretariat of the Caribbean Forum for Liberation of Genders and Sexualities (CariFLAGS).  He holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of Guyana and is a Chevening scholar with a Master of Laws Degree in Human Rights Law from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom.

Kenita Placide

Kenita Placide was recognised for advocacy and work in the LGBT community nationally, regionally and globally.

Profile 

Kenita Placide is a founding member and current Executive Director of the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE). She is also the Caribbean Advisor for New York-based OutRight Action International. In 2009, she submitted the first written and oral presentation by United and Strong to Saint Lucia’s Constitution Reform Commission and followed with a submission to the Universal Periodic Review process at the United Nations in 2010. Kenita was instrumental in organising the first OECS regional security and human rights training for LGBT and sexual rights defenders in 2011 and a regional documentation training in 2013. She helped make history when United and Strong hosted an International Dialogue on Human Rights in 2012 with ARC International; the first of its kind in the Caribbean.

Laura Tucker-Longsworth, MSN. RN. O.B.E. 

Laura Tucker-Longsworth was recognised for leadership in the HIV response and demonstrated understanding of the critical role that parliamentarians can play in ending AIDS.

Profile 

Laura Tucker-Longsworth is the speaker of the National Assembly of Belize and Chairperson of the National AIDS Commission. She is an entrepreneur and owner of Nursing & Healthcare Services (NHS) Consultants Ltd. She is the Chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee for the Nurses and Midwives Council of Belize. She is the co-author of the evidenced-based paper entitled Harmonizing Nursing Education: Theory and Practice. She holds a Master’s of Science Degree in nursing from the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, Loyola University Chicago. She was honoured with the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her contribution to Nursing and Community Service.

Lucien Govaard 

Lucien Govaard was recognised for advocacy on LGBTI issues both nationally and regionally.

Profile 

Lucien Govaard is the Chair of the Caribbean Forum for Liberation and Acceptance of Genders and Sexualities (CariFLAGS). He serves as the representative of this organization on the PANCAP Executive board, the Regional Coordinating Mechanism as well as other PANCAP sub-structures. As a Surinamese national, he is active in several local organizations in the fields of youth development, HIV and the wellbeing of elderly people and LGBTI+ community in particular. Advocate, youth leader and active member of the Caribbean community are some of the capacities in which he dedicates time and energy to the achievement of change. Lucien is a freelance consultant in health communication and youth development

Nicolette Fernandes

Nicolette Fernandes was recognised for utilizing her platform as a sports personality for advocacy regionally and internationally.

Profile 

Nicolette Fernandes is a professional squash player who represented Guyana. She won the only gold medal for Guyana at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games in Colombia.  She was named Guyanese Sportswoman of the year for the year 2009 by the Guyanese National Sports Commission (NSC).  She also appears in the WISPA 2010 calendar, which features the top WISPA squash players.  She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 19 in October 2013.

Dr Nigel Taylor

Dr Nigel Taylor was recognised for significant work and advocacy towards greater involvement of the faith community in national and regional HIV responses.

Profile 

Dr Nigel Taylor is the Minister in Charge of the Calvary Evangelical Church. He holds Doctoral Degrees in the disciplines of Theology and Psychology. He is also the President of the Barbados Evangelical Association and former Vice President of the Evangelical Association of the Caribbean. He served as Chairman of the National HIV/AIDS Commission of Barbados and engaged the denominations in the country to get involved in the response to HIV and AIDS. Dr Taylor was also part of the Barbados Delegation to The UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS) and a Barbados’ representative to the 2012 AIDS Conference in Washington.

Dr Nikkiah Forbes

Dr Nikkiah Forbes was recognised for contributions as an Infectious Disease and Clinical Care Physician and contributions to the response to ending AIDS.

Profile

Dr Nikkiah Forbes is the Director of the National HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Programme at the Bahamas Ministry of Health. She is a Consultant in Infectious Disease at the Princess Margaret Hospital and Doctors Hospital and an Associate Lecturer at The University of the West Indies, School of Clinical Medicine and Research (SCMR), Bahamas. She graduated with honours from The University of the West Indies in surgery and was the first recipient of the SCMR’s Cecil Bethel Award as the top graduate in her class in 2002. She is actively engaged in medical research and presents her work at national, regional and international scientific meetings including the Infectious Disease Society of America of which she is a member.

Honourable Terrence Deyalsingh 

Honourable Terrence Deyalsingh was recognised for leadership as a member of parliament advocating for the end of AIDS.

Profile 

Honourable Terrence Deyalsingh is the Minister of Health and the Member of Parliament for St. Joseph, in the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago. Before his stint in politics, the Hon. Terrence Deyalsingh started his career as a lecturer in the Institute of Training and Development (INTAD). From 2003-2006 he was a member of the Cabinet -appointed Committee on Labour Market Reform and chaired the sub-committee on Labour Market Information, all of which derived from his passion for business management. Subsequently, Minister Deyalsingh entered the realm of politics, where he served as a Temporary Opposition Senator during the 10th Republican Parliament. He was appointed a Senator on November 2, 2010 and served until October 14, 2013, when he accepted the nomination to contest the St. Joseph constituency. During this tenure in the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, he has served on the Standing Orders Committee of the Senate, as well as on the Finance Committee.

Volderine Hackett

Volderine Hackett was recognised for advocacy and significant contributions to championing the HIV response in the Caribbean.  

Profile 

Volderine Hackett is the Deputy Programme Manager within the Communications Unit at the CARICOM Secretariat.  She is a Communications Specialist with more than eighteen years’ experience in the field of information and communications; half of which has been integrally linked to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic through PANCAP.  She has served as Technical Coordinator of the Inaugural Champions for Change Conference on reducing HIV and AIDS stigma and discrimination. From 2004-2010, she spearheaded the operational aspects of Champions for Change.  She has served as Head of Strategic Information and Communication within the PANCAP Coordinating Unit. In addition to a Masters in Communications from the University of Leicester, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Management and a Post-Graduate Diploma in International Relations from the University of Guyana.

Rev. Winston Mansingh

Rev. Winston Mansingh was recognised for significant work and advocacy towards greater involvement of the faith community in national and regional HIV responses.

Profile 

Rev. Winston Mansingh is currently the Senior Pastor of The Poonah Open Bible Miracle Centre (POBMC). He is a graduate of the Community Bible Institute, Brooklyn, New York, Open Bible Institute of Theology Trinidad & Tobago as well as the Haggai Christian Leadership & World Missions Training Institute, Maui, Hawaii. He is the President of The Faith-Based Network of Trinidad and Tobago and an Internationally Certified Educator on HIV and AIDS.

Vanessa Uziely Rosario Brito

Vanessa Uziely Rosario Brito was recognised for advocacy in human rights and facilitation of key populations access to justice in the Dominican Republic and regionally.

Profile 

Ms Brito joins 16 PANCAP Champions who received their awards from Hon. Nicolette Henry, Minister of Education (Guyana) and Dr Douglas Slater, Assistant Secretary-General, Human and Social Development, CARICOM Secretariat, during the opening ceremony on Tuesday, September 12.  Ms Brito was presented with her award by UNAIDS and PANCAP Advisor, Dr Edward Greene who referred to her many interventions for vulnerable groups including women and children; the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community and persons living with or affected by HIV and AIDS.  She has a Law Degree from the Catholic University of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and a Masters in Corporate Law from the Antonio de Nebrija University, Madrid, Spain.  She is the Chairperson of the COIN Board and co-researcher on French Legislation in the field of HIV and AIDS for the University Hospital Center (CHU), Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadalupe. She is a Defense Lawyer on human rights and access to justice of vulnerable groups at the Human Rights Observatory for Vulnerable Groups of the Dominican Republic (ODHGV).  Ms Brito has studied best practices in holistic education on sexuality, sexual health and Human Rights at the Cuban National Center for Sexual Education (CENESEX). She is also the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the Foundation for Savings, Loans and Multiple Services in Primary Health Care.  She has defended the right of access by the public to government information as the officer responsible in the Office of the Free Access to Public Information (National Office of Public Defense, Dominican Republic).  In addition to her full-time occupation as Operations Manager in the Center of Orientation and Holistic Research (COIN), she works as an independent legal consultant.

PANCAP extends congratulations to all the new Champions and anticipates collaborating on issues related to protecting vulnerable groups and creating an enabling environment for access to prevention, care and treatment without the fear of stigma and discrimination.

Visit the official Champions for Change web page here. 

GUYANA is among more than 90 low and middle income countries that will be able benefit from a new high-quality antiretroviral therapy at a reduced cost.

At a press conference on Thursday at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, international players in the global fight to achieve the UN’s 90-90-90 treatment targets for persons living with HIV, announced that they have been able to strike a ground-breaking agreement that will accelerate the availability of the first affordable, generic, single-pill HIV treatment regimen containing dolutegravir (DTG).

With the agreement in place, public sector purchasers in low and middle income countries will be able to access the single-pill HIV treatment from 2018 at around US$75 per person, per year.

DTG, is recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an alternative first-line HIV regimen. In July 2017, WHO issued guidance to countries on how to safely and rapidly transition to DTG-based antiretroviral treatment.

The announcement was made by the Governments of South Africa and Kenya, together with the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Unitaid, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

According to the leaders in the health sector, the agreement is a critical step towards ensuring the availability of worldwide high-quality treatment for HIV.

Most importantly, it is expected to accelerate treatment rollout as part of global efforts to reach all 36.7 million people living with HIV with high-quality antiretroviral therapy. UNAIDS estimates that in 2016, just over half (19.5 million) of all people living with HIV had access to the lifesaving medicines.

In his remarks, UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, said it was a lifetime announcement, noting that the agreement will improve the quality of life for millions of people living with HIV in 92 countries across the world.

“What we are talking about today is a life changing announcement. It’s about the quality of medicine, it’s about equity, it’s about dignity, it’s about access to medicine as a human right,” he told journalists.

Sidibé noted too that increased availability to treatments like DTG is critical to achieving the UN’s 2020 target.

“To achieve the 90-90-90 treatment targets, newer, affordable and effective treatment options must be made available—from Baltimore to Bamako—without any delay,” he stated.

For WHO, the agreement is a welcomed one.

“WHO welcomes this agreement which will make it possible to reach millions of people with better, more affordable and durable HIV drugs. This will save lives for the most vulnerable, bringing the world closer to the elimination of HIV. We congratulate South Africa, Kenya, CHAI and others on this landmark agreement. WHO will support countries in the safe introduction and a swift transition to this game-changing new treatment,” WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom stated.

This one pill, once-a-day generic fixed-dose combination of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, lamivudine, and dolutegravir (TLD) was developed by Mylan and Aurobindo, under licensing agreements from ViiV Healthcare, the original developer of DTG.

BMGF, with the support of CHAI, recently completed ceiling price agreements with Mylan and Aurobindo with the goal of accelerating the availability of the new fixed-dose combination to the public sector. The agreements are expected to save public sector purchasers over US$1 billion over the next six years.

The ceiling price agreements apply to purchases for public sector use in all 92 countries covered under ViiV Healthcare’s dolutegravir licensing agreement, representing over 90 per cent of people in Low and Middle Income Countries currently living with HIV.

According to Global HIV Statistics, 36.7 million people were living with HIV in 2016, 19.5 of whom had access to antiretroviral therapy. In that year alone, 1.8 million people had gotten infected with HIV. Additionally, approximately one million people died from AIDS related illnesses in 2016.

In the Caribbean, there were 310, 000 people living with HIV in 2016, 18, 000 of whom were infected that same year. Also in 2016, 9,400 people died of AIDS-related illnesses in the Caribbean region.

In December 2016, the National AIDS Programme Secretariat had disclosed that 7000 persons were living with HIV in Guyana, the majority of whom were being treated.

Dr Christopher Arif Bulkan was recently nominated by Cabinet to represent Guyana on the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHC), according to a press release yesterday from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The next election for membership is scheduled for June 2018. The UNHC is the body of independent experts which monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by State parties.

The release said that Dr. Bulakan is an Attorney-at-Law and Senior Law Lecturer at the University of the West Indies with specializations in Public Law, Constitutional Law, Caribbean Human Rights Law, and International Human Rights Law. He also co-founded the Faculty of Law UWI Rights Advocacy Project (U-RAP) at the Cave Hill campus, which is a group of law professors who engage in litigation and advocacy aimed at promoting human rights.

Dr. Bulkan has been involved in human rights advocacy for many years and has worked to establish and defend the rights of vulnerable and marginalized communities, the release added.

He has also been involved in public advocacy against the death penalty, both regionally and at events sponsored by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The release said that the UN Human Rights Committee comprises 18 independent experts. The Members are usually elected for a four-year term by State parties.

Currently, membership includes representatives from Paraguay, Tunisia, Latvia, USA, Egypt, France, South Africa, Japan, Montenegro, Mauritania, Canada, Uganda, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Israel, and Suriname. Suriname’s membership will expire at the end of 2018, and a representative is expected to be selected from the Latin American/Caribbean region.

The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) recently participated in the 47th General Assembly of the Organisation of the American States (OAS) in Cancun, Mexico. Representing SASOD was member and volunteer, Terianna Bisnauth, who met with several local and international representatives of government and civil society organisations. Since her return, Bisnauth was elected as the Chairwoman of the SASOD Women’s Arm Guyana (SWAG).

Leading up to the official events, Bisnauth engaged in several meetings with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Travesti and Intersex (LGBTTTI) Coalition of Latin America and the Caribbean, of which SASOD is a member organization. The Coalition met a few days before the General Assembly meetings to discuss the issues in their respective countries and agree on proposals that were tabled at the official General Assembly meetings.

SASOD joins with the LGBTTTI Coalition of Latin American and the Caribbean to celebrate the adoption of the Resolution on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression by OAS during its 47th General Assembly.

According to a statement prepared by the LGBTTTI Coalition, “in that Resolution, the OAS condemns all forms of discrimination and acts of violence based on sexual orientation or on gender identity or expression, and urges Member States to take effective measures for the protection of the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex (LGBTI) people. In particular, the Resolution calls on Member States to generate data, prevent and investigate acts of homophobic, lesbophobic, biphobic, and transphobic violence. Further, it calls States to guarantee proper protection to human rights defenders working on the rights of LGBTI people through the implementation of policies and procedures ensuring the protection of these rights. The Resolution, as in previous years, urges States to afford appropriate protection to intersex people, regarding medical practices”.

SASOD commended the Government of Guyana for joining the Resolution on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression in consensus for the past two respective General Assemblies in 2016 and 2017.

The expansion in the provision of life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in sub-Saharan Africa over the past fifteen years has been an unprecedented achievement for public health, resulting in dramatic declines in HIV-related deaths and disease.

By 2015, just over half of the 10 million people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa were accessing ART, paving the way for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) to launch a bid to eliminate AIDS by 2030. This would require that 90% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) are diagnosed, 90% of those diagnosed then initiate ART, and 90% of those on ART adhere to their treatment sufficiently well as to achieve viral suppression.

This week, Paris is hosting the International AIDS Society conference. The event provides a further catalyst for rolling out policies to achieve the 90-90-90 targets, so now is a good time to take stock and examine how the most affected countries address the challenges in meeting them.

Making ART available for all PLHIV+ is a huge step forwards towards eliminating AIDS, but significant stumbling blocks remain. Many people do not feel ready or willing to undergo a HIV test, and those diagnosed may not feel able to take the daily drug regimens for the rest of their life. Understanding and addressing the reasons for existing barriers in HIV care and treatment is critical to achieving a future free of AIDS.

Contextual, social and health system factors influence the engagement of PLHIV with HIV care and treatment in sub-Saharan Africa, but how? Our ‘Bottlenecks’ study published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections has provided crucial insight. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the multi-country qualitative study examined the bottlenecks to HIV care and treatment at seven sites in six African countries; Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Uniquely we were able to draw on locally available census data linked to HIV clinic records. This meant we could identify and interview PLHIV with different HIV care and treatment histories, including those who had disengaged from the HIV care process and family members of PLHIV who had died. Such groups are notoriously difficult to include in qualitative studies. As a result, their voices and stories are often missing from accounts of HIV service use, resulting in policy recommendations that focus on those who face fewer challenges to HIV care engagement.

We found that interactions between patients and health workers, who are often desperately overworked and underpaid, had a huge influence on care seeking. In some cases, health workers believed themselves to be considering the patients’ best interests when using persuasive tactics to increase the number of patients undergoing HIV tests. Health providers, in an effort to achieve viral suppression, are also often failing to recognise the impact of debilitating side-effects that PLHIV endure on their engagement in HIV care.

Furthermore, we found that many PLHIV consult with alternative and traditional healers, although this was rarely accepted within the biomedical sector. Health workers must accept patients’ desires to access multiple channels in order to reduce the conflicts and confusions which culminate in bottlenecks.

Another major issue that affected engagement with HIV services across all settings related to couples’ relationships. For many, fear of blame, abandonment or abuse resulted in an unwillingness to disclose their HIV status to each other. Even among mutually disclosed couples there was little scope for them to attend appointments together, or to collect drugs for their partner if they were too busy themselves.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, despite improvements to HIV care services and over a decade of HIV care provision, stigma remains a persistent barrier, not only within couples but also within the community at large. This is undermining engagement with HIV diagnosis, care and treatment in all of our study settings.

As we move towards universal ART, greater acknowledgement of these issues is required. But these are exciting times – there are several bold and imaginative approaches to address these concerns on the horizon.

Self-testing for HIV is enabling many underserved groups to learn their HIV status, and continued decentralization of care and task-shifting to lay and peer health workers is breaking down barriers to accessing treatment. Patient-centred care that recognises different patients have different needs is beginning to take precedence over the previous one-size-fits all approaches that we have seen until now. New family-centered models of care are also being proposed to enable PLHIV to not only test together, but to also collect drugs for themselves and their partners.

These approaches must be tried, tested, revised and scaled-up in order to unblock the persistent bottlenecks to HIV care and treatment. Only then the ambitious goal of AIDS elimination by 2030 can be reached.

The Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF) announced that three members of The Consortium of MSM and Transgender Networks, Dr Carolyn Gomes, Simon Cazal, and Berry Nibogora, have been accepted to serve on the developing country NGO delegation to the Global Fund board.

Dr Carolyn Gomes is the Executive Director of Caribbean Vulnerable Communities (CVC), a PANCAP partner. Her work drives policy analysis, advocacy and resource mobilization to support services to vulnerable communities. Her organization, CVC, currently provides grants and technical support to a number of countries across the Caribbean islands and mainland territories.

Read more about CVC here.

Since its convening in 2013, The Consortium has reached communities of men who have sex with men, transgender people and other key populations in more than 60 countries worldwide, thanks in part to a grant provided by the Robert Carr Civil Society Network Fund (RCNF). Over the past two and a half years, members of The Consortium took aim at specific obstacles impeding meaningful engagement of men who have sex with men and transgender people in Global Fund processes at country level. Specifically, the Consortium increased community involvement of key populations in national AIDS planning processes and created direct links with Global Fund personnel. CVC led the development of the Jamaica Civil Society Forum that helped reform the CCM, including creating a civil society chair.

“We are very encouraged to see that the Global Fund is working to meaningfully include men who have sex with men and other community advocates in their programmes, policies, and funding initiatives,” said Dr George Ayala, Executive Director of The Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF). “We are proud to be a part of facilitating linkages between local advocates and global policy processes, ensuring that local needs continue to shape the global AIDS response.”

MSMGF stated that it is confident that the advocates’ experience, perspectives, and skills will greatly benefit both the Global Fund and key populations worldwide. MSMGF pledged support to their work on the delegation and wished all Global Fund NGO delegation members success in the work that lies ahead.