Friday, 15 September 2023, (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, is hosting a series of free webinars throughout the remainder of the year. This is being done in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The first webinar titled: Promoting Sexual Health and Wellness in Primary Care, was held on Thursday, September 14, and was facilitated by Dr. Keosha T. Bond, an Assistant Medical Professor in the Department of Community Health and Social Medicine, at the CUNY School of Medicine.

This webinar focused on the key components of sexual health history and provided tips for facilitating patient-focused discussions on sexual health. It also discussed the promotion of sexual health and wellness among sexual and gender-diverse populations.

The primary objectives of this first session were to define barriers that may prevent providers and patients from discussing sexual health issues; to identify key components of a comprehensive sexual health history using pleasure-based approaches; and to discuss strategies for having conversations about sexual health and wellness to minimise sex-related stigma.

These webinars are open for HIV clinicians as well as other interested medical professionals. PANCAP’s Coordinating Unit is pleased to be able to offer these webinars as vehicles for knowledge sharing and exchange, as it seeks to continuously build capacity among HIV clinicians and collectively work towards an AIDS-free region.

“As we continue to shape the regional HIV response through enhanced knowledge generation, sharing, and learning among PANCAP members, it is hoped that this webinar series will certainly increase learning opportunities among HIV clinicians as they are exposed to conventionally accepted best practices throughout the Caribbean region and wider afield, with regard to the delivery of best quality evidenced-based treatment and care for People Living with HIV (PLHIV) within the CARICOM region,”

Dr. Shanti Singh Anthony, Knowledge Management Coordinator, PANCAP, underscored.

Below is a provisional schedule of the remaining FREE webinars to be hosted by PANCAP for the remainder of 2023 and early 2024:

The next scheduled webinar will be on Thursday, September 28, 2023, at 11:00 GYT and will be facilitated by Dr. Omar Sued, Advisor in HIV Treatment and Care for (PAHO). He will be presenting on the topic: Critical Interventions to Scale up HIV Care and Treatment and Early Linkage to Care.

To register for this FREE webinar please use the link:

https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1197449960069235808

PANCAP invites medical professionals particularly HIV clinicians to take full advantage of the training opportunities being offered through this FREE webinar series so that they can broaden their knowledge and equip themselves with the requisite skills to professionally deliver high-quality care and treatment to PLHIV within the region.

Participants for this first webinar were from Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Jamaica, Haiti, Belize, Turks and Caicos, British Virgin Islands, United States of America and the United Kingdom.