Release Type: Press Release

Thursday, 5 July 2018 (PANCAP Coordinating Unit, CARICOM Secretariat): The Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), with funding from the CARIFORUM 10th European Development Fund (EDF) Programme of Support for Wider Caribbean Cooperation, will host the Barbados National Faith Leaders Consultation in Saint Michael Parish Barbados from 6 – 7 July 2018.

The Consultation forms part of a series of engagements with faith leaders in Barbados under the PANCAP Justice for All programme. It will facilitate the development of an action plan for advancing faith leaders’ implementation of key elements of the Justice for All programme. Participants will include 40 faith leaders representing national faith leaders’ networks from across Barbados.

The action plan will include but not limited to the establishment of the main goals for an inter-religious faith leaders network in Barbados with emphasis on contributing toward the end of AIDS; identification of the lessons learned for ending AIDS from faith leaders’ engagements with People Living with HIV and with other groups such as parliamentarians, youth leaders, civil society and members of church communities; challenges for developing a viable Faith Leaders Network and proposals for overcoming them; specific recommendations to achieve the goals of the inter-religious/faith leaders network and priorities and timelines for achieving the goals of the Network.

In an invited comment, coordinator of the consultation, Dr. Nigel Taylor, Chair, Barbados Evangelical Association, stated, “The many challenges faced by faith-based organisations (FBOs) necessitates a strategic partnership framework of cooperation with all stakeholders in the HIV prevention and response. As such, there must be a concerted effort to increase the partnership and collaboration between all the major stakeholders as we seek to put all systems in place to end AIDS by 2030”.

– ENDS –

What is PANCAP?

PANCAP is a Caribbean regional partnership of governments, regional civil society organisations, regional institutions and organisations, bilateral and multilateral agencies and contributing donor partners which was established on 14 February 2001. PANCAP provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, coordinates the response through the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS to maximise efficient use of resources and increase impact, mobilises resources and build capacity of partners.

• 10th European Development Fund (EDF) Programme of Support for Wider Caribbean Cooperation

 Under the 10th (EDF) Programme of Support for Wider Caribbean Cooperation, PANCAP will strengthen coordination on human rights issues in keeping with the Justice For all Roadmap through the HIV and AIDS Thematic Task Force in CARIFORUM.

• CARIFORUM

 CARIFORUM refers to the Grouping of Caribbean States which are signatories of the Georgetown Agreement establishing the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). The ACP grouping is composed of 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific states.

CARIFORUM is the recipient of and manages the implementation of Caribbean Regional Indicative Programmes financed by the EDF and Caribbean regional programmes financed by individual Member States of the European Union. It also provides technical assistance to agencies/institutions implementing projects under these programmes.

• European Union

The Member States of the European Union have decided to link together their know-how, resources and destinies. Together, they have built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development whilst maintaining cultural diversity, tolerance and individual freedoms. The European Union is committed to sharing its achievements and its values with countries and peoples beyond its borders’.

Background to the PANCAP Justice for All (JFA) Roadmap

The PANCAP Justice for All (JFA) Programme was established in September 2013 as a regional response to the UN High-Level Political Declaration (June 2011) designed to reduce AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. The objectives of the JFA Roadmap are:

• Enhancing family life and focusing on those in need
• Increasing access to treatment and affordable medicines
• Reducing gender inequality including violence against women, girls and adolescents
• Promoting prevention with special reference to sexual and reproductive health and rights including age-appropriate sexual education
• Implementing legislative reforms for modifying AIDS-related stigma and discrimination

Tuesday, 26 June 2018 (PANCAP Coordinating Unit, CARICOM Secretariat): The Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), the mechanism that provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, commenced the Regional Forum on Migrants and Mobile Populations Rights and Health with timely messages on the state of migrants’ access to health in the region.

In opening remarks, Director of PANCAP, Mr. Dereck Springer highlighted that the Migrants Forum builds on the programmes and interventions that PANCAP, with funding from development partners, have been supporting national governments and civil society to implement and address the needs of migrants and mobile populations.

He referred to the PANCAP-GIZ-EPOS Migrant Project, which worked to improve inclusion of migrants on regional and national HIV Bodies in order to advocate for equal access to health care in Antigua and Barbuda, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Guyana, Suriname, Sint Maarten and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

The Director explained that under the PANCAP Global Fund Round 9 Project, in collaboration with ILO Decent Work Programme Office, efforts were made to integrate migrant-specific interventions into the national HIV response in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize and Trinidad and Tobago. Key population-specific interventions targeting MSM, sex workers, miners and loggers have been implemented under the Global Fund project in Guyana. Jamaica, Belize, Suriname and Haiti have also implemented Global Fund-funded projects for key populations. However, the Director informed that these interventions typically cease with the end of external funding support.

Ms. Aurora Noguera Ramkissoon, UNFPA Caribbean Liaison Officer delivered remarks on behalf of Ms. Dawn Foderingham, Fast Track Adviser and Team Leader for the UNAIDS Caribbean Sub-regional Team. Her remarks focused on the state of migrants accessing health in the region. She explained that the region has been shaped by the forces of migration, which has resulted in opportunities and challenges.

However, despite this history, the Caribbean has not adequately addressed the issue of how migrants and mobile populations are afforded basic human rights, including access to health services.

She highlighted the practical considerations on both sides of the debate. Some argue that by protecting the health of migrants you naturally protect the health of the local or host population. Others raise concerns about the increased costs to the host country. What is too often missing in the discussion is the human aspect: the fundamental understanding that migrants are human beings: entitled to the same important human rights as other members of the population. This understanding is reinforced in the Sustainable Development Goals, which call for the empowerment of vulnerable groups including refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants as well as their access to essential, quality health-care services.

With respect to the regional AIDS response, Ms. Foderingham’s remarks highlighted that migrant populations must of necessity be defined as a vulnerable and key population. She posited that migrants and mobile populations are exposed to a unique set of factors and complex obstacles that make them more vulnerable to HIV, including limited access to health services and information, as well as exposure to situations that may increase high-risk sexual behavior. She proposed that to meet the universal health coverage targets set by the Sustainable Development Goals, it is crucial that the rights of migrants to access health services—including HIV services—be urgently addressed.

She emphasized that the right to health is universal, and in so doing UNAIDS commends PANCAP on leading the discussion and planned action on this issue, with the intent of developing a regional framework that promotes appropriate access to HIV services of migrants. Ms. Foderingham stated that she was hopeful that in developing this framework and advocating with COHSOD for its ratification, that the vulnerable population of migrants will have their right to health respected and upheld.

She concluded that there are migration and refugee crises in every part of the world. Ms. Foderingham remarks posited, “In the Caribbean, we say that if your neighbor’s house is on fire, you should wet your own. I urge us all to work diligently over the next two days to create a framework that would ensure a human rights-based, sustainable and feasible approach to ensuring migrant and mobile populations have healthcare access, including HIV prevention, treatment, care and support”.

In her feature address, Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, Dean of the Faculty of Law at The University of The West Indies, St. Augustine stated that there is no doubt that the HIV prevention agenda has experienced a significant lull, but it seems that now the region has been re-energized. She stated that in all of the studies and the policy framework developed, there were two clear universal principles for addressing HIV and migrant populations in the region: (1) there must be a commitment to a human rights framework that places a premium on civil and political fundamental rights of the dignity of the individual and equality.

Economic and social rights must be included like the right to health and the right to work – that being an offshoot of the right to health. This commitment must transcend borders so that all persons are entitled to such rights, wherever they are located; and (2) there must be a pragmatic approach to the right to health and to rights in general, recognizing that a non-discriminatory strategy for public health benefits the entire population. Put simply having undocumented persons in our communities without access to HIV testing and treatment endangers not just them, but all of us.

Referring to the first universal principle, Professor Antoine stated, “given that the legal framework supporting access to HIV services for migrants is generally weak in the countries under study, in my capacity as the Regional Consultant, I framed some human rights principles to facilitate the objectives of the project. These principles were supported by the Component 1 group in November 2011 as the principles to be used as the basis for the development of the national policy guidelines and are as follows:

The principle that all persons, including migrants and mobile populations, should be able to access a minimum standard of medical treatment for HIV, may be located under a number of internationally recognized human rights principles.

These include:

1. Every person has a right to health, an economic and cultural right which is derived from the broader right to life. While it is recognized that states have a margin of appreciation or leeway in determining how to translate this right in dollars and cents terms, at minimum, a state should do all in its power to ensure the health of those persons within its jurisdiction, especially in situations where its citizens and general population may be placed at risk because of related health issues;

2. Every person has a right to life and to protection of his or her life. In recent times, international human rights law has recognized that this extends to a state protecting the life of non-resident ‘aliens’ and other non-citizens where their lives are threatened because of a lack of, or hindered access to HIV treatment. We see this, for example, in recent asylum cases. This principle is broad enough to encompass migrants and mobile populations. Indeed, their standing before the law is greater than persons who come to a country to seek asylum.

3. Another principle – The principle of equality and non-discrimination is accepted as a fundamental principle of international and domestic human rights law. While constitutions may make exceptions in certain circumstances with regard to citizens, where a person resides in a state, pays taxes and contributes to a national health insurance scheme, there is no legitimate basis to apply this exception and the principle of equality in its absolute sense must stand. As such, every migrant person who contributes to taxes and national insurance should have EQUAL access to HIV treatment.

Several international instruments contain the principles of universal access to HIV care and treatment. These include the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers, the WHO Resolution on Health of Migrants and the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS (UNGA Declaration). The principles contained in these Agreements should serve as guiding principles for domestic legislation and policy. This universal access of care for all must specifically include migrant and vulnerable migrant women and children”.

Referring to the second universal principle, Professor Antoine emphasized that there must be a pragmatic approach to the right to health and to rights in general and reiterated that a non-discriminatory strategy for public health benefits the entire population.  She stated, “Thinking of the dollars and cents necessary to bring about a broad, non-discriminatory route to public health as an obstacle is counterproductive. We can save in the short term, but we all lost out in the long term”.

Professor Antoine also addressed access to health services by migrant sex workers. She stated that the region continues to have challenges in terms of discriminatory, harmful policies against sex work. She advocated for an end to judging sex workers and called for the region to confront the issue head-on and provide a safe route to testing, education, and treatment.

She stated, “Consider modifications to criminal laws on sex work, at least to provide mechanisms for legal treatment where HIV is present, if not to decriminalize such conduct. Such a policy must make special provision for undocumented migrants who are sex workers, such as amnesty for such persons and a ‘no questions asked’ policy, clearly advertised in a reassuring way. These are not necessarily legal amendments but are ancillary to legal policies and laws”.

Professor Antoine concluded that the greatest task in moving forward in relation to improving access to HIV treatment for the migrant population is the tool of political persuasion. She challenged the participants to use all of their moral, intellectual, scientific and medical resources to persuade the political power brokers that it is in the interest of the region to provide access to treatment for all migrants and that future policy changes in health should not change this.

She further stated that a Pragmatic Approach should be utilized to convince officials that the region must provide migrants with HIV prevention and treatment access in order to protect the general population. “A rights-based framework is needed now, more than ever before”, recommended Professor Antoine.

– ENDS –

Editor’s notes:

The Regional Forum on Migrants and Mobile Populations Rights and Health will be held from 26 – 27 June 2018 in Port-of-Spain, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

In excess of 40 participants, including government, private sector, civil society, migrant leaders, development partners and stakeholders, will be engaged in a review of information generated by the Legal Environment Assessments (LEA) processes, including those implemented by the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC/COIN), as well as learning from previous work in support of migrant rights completed under the CARICOM PANCAP Global Fund Round 9 Grant and the PANCAP/GIZ Migrants Project.

CARICOM Governments have signed on to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other relevant international conventions as evidence of their commitment to protect and promote the rights of migrants.

PANCAP commissioned research into the vulnerabilities of migrants in four Caribbean countries in 2012: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. These studies fed into efforts to integrate migrant-specific approaches into the work of national HIV programmes. At the end of the Project, migrant workers had access to HIV prevention services including education and testing for HIV in the beneficiary countries.

The PANCAP-GIZ Migrant Project worked in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Sint Maarten, Suriname and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Each of the GIZ countries has developed a plan for migrants that is intended to sustain the interventions initiated under the GIZ project.

The GIZ Migrant Project worked to improve inclusion of migrants on regional and national HIV Bodies in order to advocate for equal access to health care. This was achieved as follows: Guyana (2 NGOs), DR (2 NGOs), Suriname (1 TWG–HIV + Migrant/MoH), Antigua (1 NGO 3 H Foundation),1 NGO (Caribbean Vulnerable Coalition Trainings to empower migrants and their representatives are conducted in: Antigua, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago).

The participation of migrant representatives on the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) in Suriname enabled the inclusion of vulnerable migrants as a key population in its Global Fund grant and the founding of a non-governmental organization for migrants.

Comprehensive HIV prevention programmes to support reduction in the spread of HIV that facilitate linkages to the continuum of care and serve as a catalyst for reducing stigma, are lacking in the majority of countries. Many countries do not have targeted programmes for key populations and lack the capacity to develop and implement key populations-specific programming along the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care continuum.

Under the PANCAP Round 9 Global Fund project, efforts were made to integrate migrant-specific interventions into the national HIV response in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize and Trinidad and Tobago. Key population (KPs) specific interventions targeting MSM, sex workers, miners and loggers have been implemented under the Global Fund project in Guyana. Jamaica, Belize, Suriname and Haiti have also implemented Global Fund-funded projects for KPs. The findings of the PANCAP CVC-COIN Baseline assessment for the Global Fund grants suggest that some improvement was achieved with the GIZ project, which reported the following of migrant-friendly HIV services: NGOs in Suriname continue to provide migrant-friendly services for both HIV and Malaria. In Guyana, services for migrants and mobile populations were provided under the Global Fund grant but may not otherwise be sustained. In the Dominican Republic, MOSCTHA, a non-profit organization, has been implementing projects for more than 30 years, aimed at improving the quality of life of Haitian immigrants, their families, and other vulnerable populations.
MOSCTHA heads a migrant alliance, a network of more than ten local NGOs specifically working with Haitian immigrants on issues related to health and human rights.

Other specific vulnerabilities of migrant workers which are challenges to linkage and retention in care are:

• Not being aware of their right to information and right to health due to legal status, stigma, and socio-economic and cultural alienation.
• Not being exposed to the relevant HIV education and information
• Not aware of where to access basic prevention information and products, as well as where and how to utilize services from which migrants are excluded
• Lack of familiarity with the institutions and discourse in the host country
• Lack of citizen rights, dependency and xenophobia in the host societies
• Poor working conditions and absence of social security, such as health insurance
• Fear of deportation prevents access to health services to test for HIV, and even if they are tested, they may not collect the result.
• Sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
The PANCAP Coordinating Unit has commissioned a desk review and interviews with key informants to complement the aforementioned information.

What is PANCAP?

PANCAP is a Caribbean regional partnership of governments, regional civil society organisations, regional institutions and organisations, bilateral and multilateral agencies and contributing donor partners which was established on 14 February 2001. PANCAP provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, coordinates the response through the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS to maximise efficient use of resources and increase impact, mobilises resources and build capacity of partners.

What are the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 Targets?

• By 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status.
• By 2020, 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy.
• By 2020, 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.

Contact:
Timothy Austin
Communications Specialist
PANCAP Coordinating Unit
CARICOM Secretariat
Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana
Email: taustin.consultant@caricom.org
Tel: (592) 222-0001-75, Ext. 3409 | Visit www.PANCAP.org

Tuesday, 19 June 2018 (PANCAP Coordinating Unit, CARICOM Secretariat): The Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), the mechanism that provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, will convene a Regional Forum for the Development of a Regional Rights-Based Framework to increase access of Migrants and Mobile Populations to HIV prevention, care, support and treatment. The forum will be held from 26 – 27 June 2018 in Port-of-Spain, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

In excess of 40 participants, including government, private sector, civil society, migrant leaders, development partners and stakeholders, will be engaged in a review of information generated by the Legal Environment Assessments (LEA) processes, including those implemented by the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC/COIN), as well as learning from previous work in support of migrant rights completed under the CARICOM PANCAP Global Fund Round 9 Grant and the PANCAP/GIZ Migrants Project.

According to Director of PANCAP, Mr. Dereck Springer, “key outputs of the Forum will lead to the development of a regional framework for strengthening the inclusion of migrant populations in the regional and national HIV responses”. He also highlighted that the Forum will facilitate experts agreeing on partnership approaches to support regional and national-level implementation of these approaches.

Participants will also review lessons learned from previous work in the region in support of migrant rights completed under the PANCAP Global Fund Round 9 grant and the PANCAP/GIZ Migrants project. They will also identify existing and potential gaps in securing and expanding access to migrant and mobile populations to HIV and other health services. The Forum will also encompass a discussion and agreement on priority issues and approaches to strengthen the access to health by migrant populations within the context of securing the right to health.

The PANCAP Director emphasized that it was critical at this point in the region’s HIV response to have consensus on the involvement of migrants and mobile populations in regional and national-level HIV programmes. “Migrants form a significant part of the social and economic spheres in our region,” stated the Director, “as such it is critical that they are included in the planning and implementation of HIV prevention programmes that impact them”.

He further stated, “Migrants and mobile populations have long connected Caribbean countries to each other and with the outside world. Some populations relevant to HIV, move fluidly among countries; yet barriers of language or legal status exclude many migrants from access to health services. This forum intends to address these problems with solutions that include a regional perspective”.

– ENDS –

Editor’s notes:

CARICOM Governments have signed on to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other relevant international conventions as evidence of their commitment to protect and promote the rights of migrants.

PANCAP commissioned research into the vulnerabilities of migrants in four Caribbean countries in 2012: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. These studies fed into efforts to integrate migrant-specific approaches into the work of national HIV programmes. At the end of the Project, migrant workers had access to HIV prevention services including education and testing for HIV in the beneficiary countries.

The PANCAP-GIZ Migrant Project worked in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Sint Maarten, Suriname and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Each of the GIZ countries has developed a plan for migrants that is intended to sustain the interventions initiated under the GIZ project.

The GIZ Migrant Project worked to improve inclusion of migrants on regional and national HIV Bodies in order to advocate for equal access to health care. This was achieved as follows: Guyana (2 NGOs), DR (2 NGOs), Suriname (1 TWG–HIV + Migrant/MoH), Antigua (1 NGO 3 H Foundation),1 NGO (Caribbean Vulnerable Coalition Trainings to empower migrants and their representatives are conducted in: Antigua, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago).

The participation of migrant representatives on the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) in Suriname enabled the inclusion of vulnerable migrants as a key population in its Global Fund grant and the founding of a non-governmental organization for migrants.

Comprehensive HIV prevention programmes to support reduction in the spread of HIV that facilitate linkages to the continuum of care and serve as a catalyst for reducing stigma, are lacking in the majority of countries. Many countries do not have targeted programmes for key populations and lack the capacity to develop and implement key populations-specific programming along the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care continuum.

Under the PANCAP Round 9 Global Fund project, efforts were made to integrate migrant-specific interventions into the national HIV response in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize and Trinidad and Tobago. Key population (KPs) specific interventions targeting MSM, sex workers, miners and loggers have been implemented under the Global Fund project in Guyana. Jamaica, Belize, Suriname and Haiti have also implemented Global Fund-funded projects for KPs. The findings of the PANCAP CVC-COIN Baseline assessment for the Global Fund grants suggest that some improvement was achieved with the GIZ project, which reported the following of migrant-friendly HIV services: NGOs in Suriname continue to provide migrant-friendly services for both HIV and Malaria. In Guyana, services for migrants and mobile populations were provided under the Global Fund grant but may not otherwise be sustained. In the Dominican Republic, MOSCTHA, a non-profit organization, has been implementing projects for more than 30 years, aimed at improving the quality of life of Haitian immigrants, their families, and other vulnerable populations.
MOSCTHA heads a migrant alliance, a network of more than ten local NGOs specifically working with Haitian immigrants on issues related to health and human rights.

Other specific vulnerabilities of migrant workers which are challenges to linkage and retention in care are:
• Not being aware of their right to information and right to health due to legal status, stigma, and socio-economic and cultural alienation.
• Not being exposed to the relevant HIV education and information
• Not aware of where to access basic prevention information and products, as well as where and how to utilize services from which migrants are excluded
• Lack of familiarity with the institutions and discourse in the host country
• Lack of citizen rights, dependency and xenophobia in the host societies
• Poor working conditions and absence of social security, such as health insurance
• Fear of deportation prevents access to health services to test for HIV, and even if they are tested, they may not collect the result.
• Sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

The PANCAP Coordinating Unit has commissioned a desk review and interviews with key informants to complement the aforementioned information.

What is PANCAP?

PANCAP is a Caribbean regional partnership of governments, regional civil society organisations, regional institutions and organisations, bilateral and multilateral agencies and contributing donor partners which was established on 14 February 2001. PANCAP provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, coordinates the response through the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS to maximise efficient use of resources and increase impact, mobilises resources and build capacity of partners.

What are the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 Targets?

• By 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status.
• By 2020, 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy.
• By 2020, 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.

Contact:
Timothy Austin
Communications Specialist
PANCAP Coordinating Unit
CARICOM Secretariat
Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana
Email: taustin.consultant@caricom.org
Tel: (592) 222-0001-75, Ext. 3409 | Visit www.PANCAP.org

Monday, 11 June 2018 (PANCAP Coordinating Unit, CARICOM Secretariat): The Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), the mechanism that provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, collaborated with the Integral Orientation and Research Center/ Centro de Orientación e Investigación Integral (COIN) for a face-to-face knowledge exchange event in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from 4-8 June 2018.

COIN is a social interest institution based in the Dominican Republic that implements HIV prevention, care, treatment and support programmes for key populations.  The entity has been a key partner of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (Dominican Republic) and grassroots, community-based organizations in service delivery.

The objective of the knowledge exchange event was to provide participants with first-hand experience of COIN’s operations.  This included a detailed explanation of how the entity has coordinated and collaborated with the Ministry of Health, other civil society organizations and stakeholders in delivering comprehensive HIV services in communities and to key populations.

Ten persons from four countries, Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, were involved in the learning exchange event.  The team consisted of National AIDS Programme Managers, civil society organization (CSO) representatives, HIV clinicians and social workers.

The event encompassed participants engaging with officials of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance, the National HIV response and community-based organizations through site visits to clinics and outreaches.

The learning exchange was spearheaded by Dr. Shanti Singh-Anthony, PANCAP Knowledge Management Coordinator, who stated “there was a wealth of knowledge to be shared with our participants on the Dominican Republic’s national HIV response and COIN’s experience of service delivery, prioritization of key populations and their collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance and other in-country partners”.

She further explained that the goal of the knowledge exchange was to share successful models of care delivery in reaching key populations with prevention, Antiretrovirals (ARTs) and support services at the national level and for participants to understand the intersection with community-based models.

“Our objective was for participants to experience successful interventions by COIN aimed at reducing stigma and discrimination among key populations”, stated Dr. Singh-Anthony, “and to expose them to the components of COIN’s Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) programme as a new prevention modality”.

She further stated that another critical objective was for participants to understand the degree and mechanisms of coordination and collaboration between COIN, the Dominican Republic Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance, civil society organizations and other stakeholders in supporting the scale-up of HIV prevention, care and treatment services to key populations.

Dr. Singh-Anthony highlighted that the activity also facilitated knowledge sharing and exchange among the participants on the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 Targets and World Health Organization “Treat All” recommendation.

Participants were also challenged to develop country-specific action plans to enhance in-country collaboration among members of the multidisciplinary team.  “The true measure of success will be the degree to which participants implement COIN’s model of care and other best practices within their country context,” stated Dr. Singh-Anthony, “we would have succeeded when this highly successful model is utilized to improve HIV prevention services to key populations across the region”.

-ENDS –

What is PANCAP?

PANCAP is a Caribbean regional partnership of governments, regional civil society organisations, regional institutions and organisations, bilateral and multilateral agencies and contributing donor partners which was established on 14 February 2001. PANCAP provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, coordinates the response through the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS to maximise efficient use of resources and increase impact, mobilises resources and build capacity of partners.

What are the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 Targets?

• By 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status.
• By 2020, 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy.
• By 2020, 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.

Contact:

Timothy Austin

Communications Specialist

PANCAP Coordinating Unit

CARICOM Secretariat

Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana

Email:      taustin.consultant@caricom.org

Tel: (592) 222-0001-75, Ext. 3409  | Visit www.PANCAP.org

PAHO, in partnership with PANCAP, CARPHA, UNAIDS and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hosted the National action towards the elimination of STIs and Viral Hepatitis in the Caribbean: A sub-regional meeting in Port-of-Spain, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago from 21–23 May 2018.

The aim of the meeting was to stimulate National Action to address gaps and challenges in the STI response as part of HIV combination prevention and expand viral hepatitis response beyond immunization in the Caribbean.

Present were the Honourable Ayanna Webster-Roy, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, holding the portfolios of Gender and Child Affairs, Ecclesiastical Affairs and Central Administration Services, Tobago, Mr. Dereck Springer, Director of PANCAP, Dr. Virginia Asin-Oostburg, Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Dr. Massimo Ghidinelli, Director, PAHO, Unit for HIV, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis and Sexually Transmitted Infections, Dr. Edwin Vicente C. Bolastig, PAHO/WHO Representative, ad interim, Trinidad and Tobago.

The STI component focused on syphilis, gonorrhea, and HPV especially among pregnant women and their sexual partners, adolescents and key populations at increased risk for STIs/HIV. The Viral Hepatitis component focused on increasing the public health response, including access to HBV and HCV testing and treatment, and integration of hepatitis action within the general health system.

Friday, 18 May 2018 (PANCAP Coordinating Unit, CARICOM Secretariat): The Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), the mechanism that provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, commenced the Second Regional Meeting of Youth Leaders on Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV and AIDS on 18 May 2018 in Port-of-Spain, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

In his opening remarks, Director of PANCAP, Mr. Dereck Springer, lauded the PANCAP Youth Steering Committee for developing and executing the agenda and methodology for the Second Youth Meeting. “This is clear indication of your growth since the First Meeting of Youth”, stated the Director, “I wish to commend the entire Youth Network for taking definitive steps in advocating for the priority areas identified at the previous meeting”.

The priority areas included (1) the dissonance between the age of sexual consent (16 years), and the age for independent access to health care (18 years), (2) the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education in all schools in the Caribbean and (3) Gender inclusive laws that protect victims of sexual exploitation.

The PANCAP Director highlighted the additional progress since the first meeting, which included the establishment of the PANCAP Youth Advocacy Steering Committee and a specialized training workshop held in January 2018 designed to equip participants with skills to develop an advocacy strategy. He shared his expectations that the meeting would reach agreements on innovative and practical actions for advancing the key priority areas identified in the Caribbean Regional Youth Advocacy Framework (CRYAF) on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, as well as on key issues for advocacy within their respective countries. He urged the youth advocates to collaborate with the PANCAP Coordinating Unit, other stakeholders and each other to implement those actions. Mr. Springer indicated that PANCAP would facilitate their participation in high-level fora.

The Chair, PANCAP Youth Advocacy Steering Committee, Mr. Kevin Mendez stated that he has experienced significant positive change in his life since as a gay man, he is able to openly share his story and experience in the Caribbean, which has legislation that “impede on the rights of LGBT persons”. The Chair thanked PANCAP for creating a safe space for youth to have discourse and create a plan of action for regional advocacy.

He further stated that the meeting would focus on creating effective methods to advocate for the aforementioned key issues, which he believes, have a direct impact on the quality of life of young people, especially young key populations: young gay men, Men who have sex with men (MSM), and Transgender-persons, who have the highest HIV prevalence in the region.

Mr. Mendez further explained that in “the last year, with the support of PANCAP and the Youth Advocacy Steering Committee, we have received the mentorship to improve our advocacy skills to address our priority areas in our country context”.

He challenged participants to actively participate in discussions, invited them to be open and comfortable to share their challenges and opportunities in advocating for change. He also explained that the forum will be important for formalizing initiatives and effective communication among the youth network.

“One country cannot move ahead of another. Our issues, our needs are the same and you are all brilliant and passionate key players from whom we can learn and share a wealth of knowledge”, stated Mr Mendez, “we are one young Caribbean family and as such we have the responsibility to work together at the country level and as a region”.

In addition, he reminded participants that in 2017 there was a 1% increase of HIV infections among young men. “This HIV epidemic is killing our youth, our friends and families and our society”, implored Mr. Mendez, “we have been told we are the future but with HIV and HIV-related discrimination, our tomorrow in not certain. This is our time to take action, work together, stay informed and be real!”

During remarks, Mr. André Browne, Dean, CARICOM Youth Ambassadors Programme (CYAP), stated that the CYAP can function as a key resource for reaching youth and gathering youth voices at a decision-making level for all matters regarding CARICOM.

He highlighted that PANCAP has understood the need for Caribbean Youth Ambassadors (CYAs) to have opportunities to get together to share experiences, plan activities and receive the training they need to ensure their efforts are effective in their communities.

Mr. Browne explained that PANCAP has been a key support for the programme, bringing together CYAs with other youth to discuss ending AIDS since 2017. He revealed that for most of the CYAs present at the inaugural meeting, it was the first time they were able to meet in person. “Deans before me have effusively sang the praises of PANCAP and rightly so, the PANCAP leadership’s dedication to youth involvement is remarkable and must be applauded” stated the CYAP Dean, “from carving out a space for us in the form of these youth meetings to ensuring we have a voice at high-level decision making meetings such as the PANCAP Regional Coordinating Mechanism (RCM) and Executive Board, and building our capacity through the recently concluded Local Capacity Initiative (LCI), even allowing us the use of their online platform for meetings”.

He informed the meeting that his goal is to renew the charge to the youth participating in the meeting, particularly the CYAs. Mr. Browne stated “the meeting comes at a time when 15 to 24-year-olds account for one-third of new HIV infections in the Caribbean, and at a time when almost half (46.2%) of Caribbean young people ages 15 – 24 did not have adequate knowledge about HIV, and at a time when two of five (38.6%) young people ages 15 – 24 did not use a condom the last time they had sex. It is time we act”.

He challenged participants to utilize the forum to formalize an actionable plan based on the CRYAF particularly on Comprehensive Sexuality Education, access to care for youth and creation of gender inclusive laws. He emphasized that the forum is another positive step to achieving the 2030 goal of zero AIDS among adolescents and the 90-90-90 Targets.

In her keynote address, Youth Advocate, Ms. Terry-Ann Roy, Alliance for Justice and Diversity, advocated for the removal of laws, which discriminate against sexual, gender minorities, and prevent them from accessing proper health care and information through fear of stigma and discrimination.

“We have to join forces in all areas of our activism because these issues intersect with each other”, stated Ms. Roy “when LGBT persons are discriminated within the law, this affects how they navigate the health-care system and how they access the necessary information to prevent contracting HIV as well as treatment if they need it. These laws do not only affect gay people but also those who are also listed as key populations in PANCAP’s own initiatives to end HIV and AIDS”.

She explained that these persons include sex workers, Trans women, People living with HIV (PLHIV), MSM, young women, girls and neglected persons who do not have access to these services. She stated, “we must recognize how these issues interconnect and work together, unite to combat these discriminatory laws and demand better policies and modified legislation. This is why we are here today and this why we will continue to return to get the necessary information to arm ourselves and approach these policymakers and parliamentarians with our demands. I stress on demands because we are entitled to these rights. It is written in all our constitutions. The right to freedom of expression, liberty, equality before the law, family life and dignity. Simply echoing that some laws are not enforced do not grant us the dignity we deserve”.

The opening ceremony was chaired by Ms. Alexus D’Marco, Vice Chair of the PANCAP Youth Steering Committee.

The meeting comes approximately one year after the First Meeting of Youth Leaders and two years ahead of the 2020 deadline for reaching the 90-90-90 Targets. It is expected to culminate with the development of advocacy supporting tools and materials for youths to advocate at the highest-level for the end of AIDS by 2030.

– ENDS –

What is PANCAP?

PANCAP is a Caribbean regional partnership of governments, regional civil society organisations, regional institutions and organisations, bilateral and multilateral agencies and contributing donor partners which was established on 14 February 2001. PANCAP provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, coordinates the response through the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS to maximise efficient use of resources and increase impact, mobilises resources and build capacity of partners.

What are the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 Targets?

• By 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status.
• By 2020, 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy.
• By 2020, 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.

Contact:
Timothy Austin
Communications Specialist
PANCAP Coordinating Unit
CARICOM Secretariat
Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana
Email: taustin.consultant@caricom.org
Tel: (592) 222-0001-75, Ext. 3409 | Visit www.PANCAP.org

Editor’s Notes:

Overview of PANCAP Youth Initiatives

The Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework (CRSF) 2014-2018 articulates the vision and collective priorities of Caribbean states through their membership in the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP). The CRSF recognizes that resources must be strategically allocated to target the epidemic at regional, country, community and individual levels. Doing so effectively will require establishing and sustaining an enabling environment (Strategic Priority Area 1) by addressing social and cultural drivers of the epidemic and by removing barriers to access sexual and reproductive health information, education and services. In particular, more conscious efforts to address human sexuality are needed in order to equip young people with the regional public goods including knowledge and tools they need for healthy development.

As of 2014, there were 280 000 [210 000–340 000] people living with HIV, 8800 [5700–13 000] AIDS-related deaths among adults, and 44% [33%-54%] of adults living with HIV accessing HIV treatment in the Caribbean. Young people, especially among key populations, in Caribbean are disproportionately at risk of HIV infection, and they face greater barriers to accessing prevention services. According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), HIV prevalence among young people is 0.07% and 0.05% in females and males in the non-Hispanic Caribbean and 0.2% and 0.3% in the Hispanic Caribbean both respectively. In Jamaica, where the data are available, higher estimated HIV prevalence has been reported among gay, men that have sex with men (14%) and transgender adolescent girls (27%). While the regional response has realized some progress with a 43% reduction among adults and a 90% reduction in children acquiring HIV, gaps and challenges remain. HIV prevalence remains high among Key Populations (KPs) such as Sex Workers (SW), Men who have Sex with Men (MSM), and young people. At the same time, challenges regarding stigma and discrimination, violations of human rights and gender-based violence continue to hinder access to services for young people in general.

To work more systematically with young people belonging to KPs who are more difficult to reach, PANCAP/Global Fund grant programme proposed to collaborate with CVC/COIN to link at-risk youth with the CYAP. The CYAP provides a unique platform for leadership development and collaboration that can strengthen the participation of a more diverse and better-informed youth constituency in CARICOM decision-making. This will serve a mutually beneficial purpose of strengthening the relevance and impact of the Youth Ambassadors as well as providing access to high-level CARICOM fora for KP youth, allowing for collaborative approaches to high-level advocacy that better links the issues and priorities of CARICOM to those of young people. This initiative supports the inclusion and participation of some Key Population groups (i.e. PLHIV, MSM, SW and youth) in the regional response addressing the critical gaps given the overwhelming evidence of the main drivers of HIV transmission in these groups.

The First Meeting of Youth Leaders held in April 2017 allowed for in-depth discussion of sexual health issues affecting young people, identified what are barriers to their access to sexual health services, as well as identify what knowledge and tools are required to protect themselves from HIV. The meeting provided input required to develop a regional advocacy framework on key sexual health issues affecting youth and to inform subsequent training to strengthen advocacy skills of regional youth leaders. This has strengthened the inclusion of youth leaders in the regional and national responses to work towards a more coherent and holistic approach to issues affecting youth from key populations and young people living with HIV: the dissonance between the age of sexual initiation (before age 15), prevailing legislation on the age of consent (16 years), and the age for independent access to health care (18 years) with the exception of Jamaica in which age for independent access to health care is 16, the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education in all schools in the Caribbean and Gender neutral laws that protect victims of sexual exploitation.
The formalization of a Steering Committee on Youth Advocacy and follow up meetings are an innovative approach to mobilise regional youth leaders to actively engage in high-level advocacy and policy dialogues by linking the CYAP with PLHIV youth leaders and other sexual and reproductive health youth activities/leaders.

The Second Meeting of Youth Leaders will provide the opportunity for in-depth discussion on the achievements and challenges confronted by youth leaders in addressing the three priority areas identified in the Caribbean Regional Youth Advocacy Framework (CRYAF) to set in motion practical advocacy tools and techniques that can be adapted per country context. This meeting will serve to identify regional and international mechanisms that can be used as best practice models for the achievement of priority objectives, provide the opportunity to exercise advocacy techniques with parliamentarian(s), CSO representation and CYAs through a panel discussion addressing sexual and reproductive health issues and concerns identified by youth leaders. The meeting will enable the adaptation of a standardized data collecting and reporting tool used by youth leaders in their respective countries. This will better inform PANCAP of opportunities to support an innovative approach to mobilize regional youth leaders to actively engage in high-level advocacy, as well as further develop advocacy tools and materials to review and address policies, practices and laws that affect young people’s vulnerabilities to HIV.

Helpful links:

• PANCAP Youth web page: https://pancap.org/what-we-do/youth/
• Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS: https://pancap.org/who-we-are/caribbean-regional-strategic-framework/
• Caribbean Regional Youth Advocacy Framework on Sexual & Reproductive Health and Rights: https://pancap.org/pc/pcc/media/pancap_document/Final_Caribbean-Regional-Youth-Advocacy-Framework-on-SRHR.pdf

Friday, 11 May, 2018 (PANCAP Coordinating Unit, CARICOM Secretariat): The Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), the mechanism that provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, will host the Second Meeting of Youth Leaders on Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV and AIDS on 18 -19 May 2018 in Port-of-Spain, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

The meeting comes approximately one year after the First Meeting of Youth Leaders and two years ahead of the 2020 deadline for reaching the 90-90-90 targets—90% of people living with HIV diagnosed, 90% of diagnosed people on treatment and 90% of those on treatment virally suppressed.
The overarching aim of the meeting is to foster increased understanding of the challenges and opportunities of youth leaders in order to develop advocacy supporting tools and materials for youths to advocate at the highest-level for the end of AIDS by 2030.

Over 40 participants are scheduled to attend consisting of CARICOM Youth Ambassadors (CYAs), youth leaders from Key Populations, select parliamentarians and representatives of the Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation (CFPA) and the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC-COIN). Over 15 Caribbean territories will be represented.

The meeting is organized by the PANCAP Youth Advocacy Steering Committee with support from the PANCAP Coordinating Unit. According to Mr Kevin Mendez, Chair, PANCAP Youth Advocacy Steering Committee, the meeting will provide youth leaders with the opportunity for in-depth discussion on the achievements and challenges confronted by youth leaders in addressing the three priority areas identified in the Caribbean Regional Youth Advocacy Framework (CRYAF) on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights with the aim of developing practical advocacy tools and techniques that can be adapted in each Caribbean territory.

Through the CRYAF, PANCAP’s intended objective is to further the remit of the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework (CRSF) on HIV and AIDS under Strategic Priority Areas (1): An Enabling Environment and (3) Prevention as well as to support the PANCAP Justice for All Roadmap.
The Chair further explained that the forum will serve to identify regional and international mechanisms that can be used as best practice models for the achievement of priority objectives, provide the opportunity to exercise advocacy techniques with parliamentarians, Civil Society Organisation representatives and Caribbean Youth Ambassadors (CYAs) through a panel discussion addressing sexual and reproductive health issues and concerns identified by youth leaders.

He highlighted that the meeting will enable the adaptation of a standardized data collecting and reporting tool used by youth leaders in their respective countries. This will better inform PANCAP of opportunities to support innovative approaches to mobilize regional youth leaders to engage in high-level advocacy, as well as further develop advocacy tools and materials to review and address policies, practices and laws that affect young people’s vulnerabilities to HIV.

“The intention is to provide a forum for in-depth discussion on achievements and challenges of youth leaders advocating for the implementation of the CRYAF on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights priority objectives in their respective countries,” stated Mr. Mendez.

Further, youth leaders will be engaged in identifying and analyzing regional and international mechanisms for use as best practice models addressing barriers that impede access to sexual health services by youth.

The forum will also provide an opportunity for practical high-level advocacy involving parliamentarians, Civil Society Organization and CYAP representatives.

– ENDS –

What is PANCAP?

PANCAP is a Caribbean regional partnership of governments, regional civil society organisations, regional institutions and organisations, bilateral and multilateral agencies and contributing donor partners which was established on 14 February 2001. PANCAP provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, coordinates the response through the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS to maximise efficient use of resources and increase impact, mobilises resources and build capacity of partners.

What are the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 Targets?

• By 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status.
• By 2020, 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy.
• By 2020, 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.

Contact:
Timothy Austin
Communications Specialist
PANCAP Coordinating Unit
CARICOM Secretariat
Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana
Email: taustin.consultant@caricom.org
Tel: (592) 222-0001-75, Ext. 3409 | Visit www.PANCAP.org

Image: Dr. Edward Greene former UN Secretary-General Special Envoy for HIV in the Caribbean now PANCAP Special Advisor (center),

with participants of the Faith Leaders Consultation (Belize)

 Thursday, 10 May, 2018 (PANCAP Coordinating Unit, CARICOM Secretariat): The Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), the mechanism that provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, collaborated with National HIV/AIDS Commission to convene National Faith Leaders consultation in Belize on 10 May 2018 in Belize City, Belize. The consultation is funded by the CARIFORUM 10^th European Development Fund Programme of Support for Wider Caribbean.

The aim of the consultation is to establish main goals for an inter-religious faith leaders network in Belize with emphasis on contributing towards the end of AIDS. This meeting follows a series of regional meetings involving faith leaders.

In welcoming participants Hon. Laura Longsworth, OBE, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chair of the National HIV/AIDS Commission, acknowledged the assistance and support of Faith Leaders and other partners that have helped to sustain the efforts to end the AIDS epidemic; Mrs. Longsworth observed that faith leaders are key to the response because they believe in the intrinsic value of human beings and noted that faith leaders promote access to services with love and humanity.

In his opening statement Chair of the meeting, Bishop Roosevelt Papouloute noted that as human beings, faith leaders are challenged by the development in families and society. He lauded PANCAP for its leadership in advancing the Justice for All Programme and for recognizing the importance of the Faith leadership in accelerating the response to end AIDS by 2020.

Bishop Michael Perreira, Senior Pastor of the Eccles Assemblies of God Church Guyana in delivering the keynote address acknowledged the value of networking with other stakeholders to achieve the purpose of God in ending AIDS by 2030. He applauded PANCAP for providing a platform for engagement. He contended that “as a leader in the Christian community our task is not only to prepare people for heaven but provide them with a model for living a life here and now”. He urged that the Church should not be oblivious of the human condition and must not fail to protect social justice for everyone. “If the church cannot resolve to fight AIDS it is neglecting their duty; Religious organizations need to do more and be more consistent in spreading the words and work together to end AIDS”.

Bishop Perreira concluded his address by encouraging faith leaders to:

• Love people without necessarily approving what they do;
• Inform their views/concepts of persons of a different sexual orientation. He stated, “this is necessary because members of key populations are not inclined to take us (faith leaders) seriously, as they are convinced that we are not genuinely concerned about them”.
• Preach and practice Christian Godly principles: love and respect all human beings whom God loves, just as they are our own.
• Partner with other stakeholders giving loving, empathetic Godly support.
• Find common ground as stated in the Regional Faith Leaders Forum Declaration of February 2017.

Director of PANCAP Dereck Springer provided the background to the national consultation in the context of the PANCAP Justice for All Programme and Roadmap. He reminded the consultation of the underlining principles of the JFA Roadmap: Enhancing family life and focusing on those in need; Increasing access to treatment and affordable medicines: PANCAP playing an important role in reducing the price of medicines; Reducing gender inequality including violence against women, girls, and adolescents; Promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights including age-appropriate sexual education; and Implementing legislative reform for modifying AIDS-related stigma and discrimination.

Dr. Francis Morey, Deputy Director of Health, Ministry of Health, Belize provided a status report on the HIV epidemic in Belize and the current response. He highlighted the challenges to achieving viral suppression among people living with HIV.

First Lady of Belize and Chair of the Spouses of Caribbean Leaders Action Network (SCLAN) Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow identified the major issues addressed by the ‘Every Caribbean Women Every Caribbean Child’ (CARIWAC) initiative. In defining the role that faith leaders can play Mrs. Barrow noted that health and well-being could be advanced by increased collaboration between SCLAN and Faith Leaders. She called attention to the adolescent population that is being overlooked, noting that a considerable number of girls are giving birth under the age of 15 years, thereby perpetuating the cycle of poverty. She also called for engagement of men and boys in reducing inequality of women and girls.

Faith leaders who attended the regional faith leaders’ dialogues reflected on the experiences that helped them to dispel their apprehensions, the role of the science in achieving the end of AIDS, barriers to access to health services and the need to foster continued transformation of the mind.

Following deliberations in small groups, faith leaders identified the following challenges impacting faith leaders’ response including differences between religious principles and practices; creating refuge for those in need; lack of religious organizations’ input into the development of the sexual education curriculum; unified education and counselling; preparation for respectful dialogue when court rulings contradict religious doctrines; lack of concrete information; how to creatively utilize social media.

Participants provided several proposals for addressing the challenges identified. These included education of the congregation; liaising with key stakeholders including National AIDS Programmes (NAP); establishing a structured approach such as hubs; identifying and sharing best practices from other Faith-based Organizations (FBOs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs); ensuring that faith leaders are relevant by utilizing social media; create spaces of refuge and places of acceptance; provide prevention services; sensitizing faith leaders about confidentiality; accept people where they are; uplift the community; encourage people to know their status and in the case of couples share their results and offer positive alternatively ways of living.

Faith leaders also recommended the promotion of the following programmes and policies within individual religious groups and national inter-religious networks: structured approach that is focused on helping people; development and implementation of youth education programmes utilizing creative methodologies such as edutainment and utilizing the mobile app developed by the National AIDS Commission (NAC), Belize to access information.

Faith leaders agreed on the need for an inter-religious organization that brings together the various groupings around the HIV response and will meet shortly to formalize the process for moving forward. The Director of PANCAP pledged the Coordinating Unit’s support to the national network as it evolves.

 -ENDS –

What is PANCAP?

PANCAP is a Caribbean regional partnership of governments, regional civil society organisations, regional institutions and organisations, bilateral and multilateral agencies and contributing donor partners which was established on 14 February 2001. PANCAP provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, coordinates the response through the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS to maximise efficient use of resources and increase impact, mobilises resources and build capacity of partners.

10th European Development Fund (EDF) Programme of Support for Wider Caribbean Cooperation

 Under the 10th (EDF) Programme of Support for Wider Caribbean Cooperation, PANCAP will strengthen coordination on human rights issues in keeping with the Justice For all Roadmap through the HIV and AIDS Thematic Task Force in CARIFORUM.

CARIFORUM

 CARIFORUM refers to the Grouping of Caribbean States which are signatories of the Georgetown Agreement establishing the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). The ACP grouping is composed of 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific states.

CARIFORUM is the recipient of and manages the implementation of Caribbean Regional Indicative Programmes financed by the EDF and Caribbean regional programmes financed by individual Member States of the European Union. It also provides technical assistance to agencies/institutions implementing projects under these programmes.

European Union

 The Member States of the European Union have decided to link together their know-how, resources and destinies. Together, they have built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development whilst maintaining cultural diversity, tolerance and individual freedoms. The European Union is committed to sharing its achievements and its values with countries and peoples beyond its borders’.

Background to the PANCAP Justice for All (JFA) Roadmap

The PANCAP Justice For All (JFA) Programme was established in September 2013 as a regional response to the UN High-Level Political Declaration (June 2011) designed to reduce AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. The objectives of the JFA Roadmap are:

• Enhancing family life and focusing on those in need
• Increasing access to treatment and affordable medicines
• Reducing gender inequality including violence against women, girls and adolescents
• Promoting prevention with special reference to sexual and reproductive health and rights including age-appropriate sexual education
• Implementing legislative reforms for modifying AIDS-related stigma and discrimination

Contact:

Timothy Austin

Communications Specialist

PANCAP Coordinating Unit

CARICOM Secretariat

Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana

Email:      taustin.consultant@caricom.org

Tel: (592) 222-0001-75, Ext. 3409  | Visit www.PANCAP.org

Thursday, 3 May 2018 (PANCAP Coordinating Unit, CARICOM Secretariat): The Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), with funding from the CARIFORUM 10th European Development Fund (EDF) Programme of Support for Wider Caribbean Cooperation, will host the Belize National Faith Leaders Consultation in Belize on the 10th May 2018.

This Consultation is a follow-up to a series of engagements with faith leaders including Belize under the PANCAP Justice for All programme. This consultation will facilitate the development of an action plan for advancing faith leaders’ implementation of key elements of the Justice for All programme. Participants will include 40 Faith Leaders representing national faith leaders’ network across Belize.

The action plan will include the establishment of the main goals for an inter-religious faith leaders network in Belize with emphasis on contributing toward the end of AIDS; identification of the lessons learned for ending AIDS from faith leaders’ engagements with people living with HIV and with other groups such as parliamentarians, youth leaders, civil society and members of the church communities; challenges for developing a viable Faith Leaders Network and proposals for overcoming them; specific recommendations to achieve the goals of the inter-religious/faith leaders network; and priorities and timelines for achieving the goals of the Network.

In an invited comment, Coordinator of the consultation, Bishop Roosvelt Papouloute, (Belize Council of Churches) said that this consultation will be an opportunity for leaders from the different Christians denominations and other religious communities to come together to strengthen the response to HIV and AIDS, to raise awareness and educate the wider population about issues relating to HIV and AIDS. He encourages all those who have been invited to make every effort to attend.

– ENDS –

What is PANCAP?

PANCAP is a Caribbean regional partnership of governments, regional civil society organisations, regional institutions and organisations, bilateral and multilateral agencies and contributing donor partners which was established on 14 February 2001. PANCAP provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, coordinates the response through the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS to maximise efficient use of resources and increase impact, mobilises resources and build capacity of partners.
– 10th European Development Fund (EDF) Programme of Support for Wider Caribbean Cooperation

Under the 10th (EDF) Programme of Support for Wider Caribbean Cooperation, PANCAP will strengthen coordination on human rights issues in keeping with the Justice For all Roadmap through the HIV and AIDS Thematic Task Force in CARIFORUM.

– CARIFORUM

CARIFORUM refers to the Grouping of Caribbean States which are signatories of the Georgetown Agreement establishing the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). The ACP grouping is composed of 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific states.

CARIFORUM is the recipient of and manages the implementation of Caribbean Regional Indicative Programmes financed by the EDF and Caribbean regional programmes financed by individual Member States of the European Union. It also provides technical assistance to agencies/institutions implementing projects under these programmes.

– European Union

The Member States of the European Union have decided to link together their know-how, resources and destinies. Together, they have built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development whilst maintaining cultural diversity, tolerance and individual freedoms. The European Union is committed to sharing its achievements and its values with countries and peoples beyond its borders’.

Background to the PANCAP Justice for All (JFA) Roadmap

The PANCAP Justice For All (JFA) Programme was established in September 2013 as a regional response to the UN High Level Political Declaration (June 2011) designed to reduce AIDS related stigma and discrimination. The objectives of the JFA Roadmap are:

 Enhancing family life and focusing on those in need
 Increasing access to treatment and affordable medicines
 Reducing gender inequality including violence against women, girls and adolescents
 Promoting prevention with special reference to sexual and reproductive health and rights including age appropriate sexual education
 Implementing legislative reforms for modifying AIDS-related stigma and discrimination

The Launch of Global Lifestyle Foundation (GLF) was held on 28 April 2018 at the Royal St. Kitts Hotel Frigate Bay before an audience including former Governor General Sir Edmund Lawerence, former Ministers of Government, Ambassadors, faith leaders, representatives of community organizations, youth, and well-wishers.

The Right Honorable Dr Denzil Douglas former Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, former Chair of PANCAP and founder and chair of the Foundation outlined its origins, vision, and mission. He acknowledged that many individuals assisted him along the way and without their support and nurturing he would not have become a medical doctor much less a Prime Minister. “GLF is my attempt to give back to the community, the nation and the region. Its major programmes revolve around health and wellbeing, climate resilience and the green economy program and changing the lives of others for the better ” said Dr Douglas.

In his feature address, Dr Edward Greene former UN Secretary-General Special Envoy for HIV and now PANCAP Advisor paid tribute to Dr Douglas for his exemplary role, unwavering commitment and effective advocacy for the regional integration process and his outstanding representation of Saint Kitts and Nevis and the Caribbean Community. He commended the Chair and Board of Directors and said that “GLF is ideally conceived and its entry into the family of civil society could not be timelier ”

Dr Douglas continues to be an active member of the Network of regional parliamentarians and participated in the recently concluded PANCAP Joint Consultation of faith leaders, parliamentarians, youth key populations and National AIDS Coordinators in Trinidad and Tobago, 24-25 April.

Commenting on the launch, Dereck Springer, PANCAP Director stated, “I congratulate Dr Douglas, welcome the Global Lifestyle Foundation and look forward to its engagement in achieving the goals of the PANCAP Justice for All Roadmap”.

For more on the Global Lifestyle Foundation, click here.