Media Releases – Page 26

Region urged to end stigma and discrimination as UNAIDS and CRN+ launch new awareness initiatives

Leaving no one behind continues to be the goal of the Partnership and its stakeholders as the Region continues to focus on initiatives that ensure equal access to prevention, care, treatment, and support for vulnerable populations.

On Zero Discrimination Day, 1 March 2019, UNAIDS is highlighting the urgent need to take action against discriminatory laws. UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé called on countries to review their laws and policies to protect those vulnerable to discrimination. “Laws should protect, not harm,” stated Sidibé, “All countries must carefully review their laws and policies to ensure equality and protection for all people, no exceptions”.

The campaign will be highlighted with social media messages from partners and stakeholders from across the region under the theme “act to change laws that discriminate”.

To maintain the momentum of ending stigma and discrimination, the Caribbean Regional Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (CRN+) will launch #UnitedPositively at the opening ceremony of the upcoming Seventh Meeting of the National AIDS Programme Managers and Key Partners, 11 March 2019.

The initiative aims to target policymakers and high-level decision makers with social media messages from People living with and affected by HIV. Messages will illustrate how discrimination and the fear of stigma prevent vulnerable populations from accessing prevention, care, treatment, and support.

According to Jason Shepherd, Senior Programme Officer, CRN+ “Despite the gains made in relation to vulnerable populations’ access to services to achieve prevention, it is not uncommon to hear testimonials from persons within our networks who continue to not access prevention and treatment services for fear of discrimination. Hence, #UnitedPositively aims to motivate people living with or affected by HIV to advocate with policymakers to review discriminatory laws and policies that impact vulnerable populations’ access. We need to stand up as one Caribbean against stigma and discrimination”.

Director’s Message – February 2019

Origin of the National AIDS Programme Managers and Key Partners Meeting

The Partnership is preparing for the Seventh Meeting of National AIDS Programme Managers and Key Partners scheduled for 11 to 13 March 2019. This meeting is the brainchild of Professor Peter Figueroa who served as Chair of the Priority Area Coordinating Committee and Vice Chair of the PANCAP Executive Board from 2009 to the end of 2013. Prof. Figueroa, like other partners, recognized that PANCAP was challenged to transfer regional public goods to the countries. He reflected on the experience and success of the Annual meeting of the Expanded Programme on Immunization Programme Managers and recommended that the HIV response could benefit tremendously from a similar annual meeting. With funding from the Global Fund, this meeting became a reality.

Evolution

After six years, the meeting has evolved as a forum for reflecting on the Region’s progress and challenges, discussing and agreeing on strategies that countries can implement to better respond to the epidemic and sharing of global developments and innovations and country experiences in implementing innovative strategies to achieve the end of AIDS. It fosters dialogue and respect among NAP managers and civil society partners and has allowed NAP managers to better appreciate the contributions of civil society partners. It provides regional and development partners with the opportunity to learn from the countries and to better tailor their assistance to support country needs.

Knowledge Management Share Fair

We have also added an extra day for knowledge sharing and capacity building among NAP managers and civil society partners with funding from the PEPFAR-USAID Johns Hopkins University funded PANCAP Knowledge for Health Project. A fifth day is now dedicated to NAP managers only to enable them to meet and identify their priorities and needs including technical support from partners.

Platform for reflection

This year the Planning Committee has agreed to create space for individual countries to reflect on each session and to indicate which strategy or innovation they can commit to implement and to report on the following year. This would facilitate increased transfer of regional public goods by allowing countries the flexibility to implement innovative strategies and activities that take into consideration the available human and financial resources.

Increased interest

We have also seen increased interest in this meeting, which has expanded its target audience to include chief medical officers and permanent secretaries. All development partners in the Region now actively participate in this meeting.

We look forward to welcoming all partners and sharing and learning from each other and to the outcomes and follow up actions.

Funding is guaranteed for this meeting under the new three-year PANCAP-CVC-COIN Global Fund grant, which will commence on 1 October 2019.

I wish to extend a special thank you to the Planning Committee for framing an agenda that responds to the needs of our National AIDS Programmes.

PANCAP to host Parliamentarians Sensitization Forum in Jamaica

Wednesday 27 February 2019 (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 a Parliamentarians Sensitization Forum in Kingston Jamaica on Thursday 28 February 2019.

The Forum forms part of a series of engagements with parliamentarians, which commenced in 2013 under the PANCAP Justice for All (JFA) programme. The objectives of the Forum are to outline the challenges to the Jamaica HIV response including stigma and discrimination that serve as barriers to achieving the UNAIDS 90-90-90 Targets and ending the AIDS epidemic, define parliamentarians’ legislative, representational and oversight roles toward addressing the challenges to ending the AIDS epidemic and pursue actions with specific timelines aligned with parliamentarians’ legislative, representational and oversight roles.

Participants will be engaged in making specific recommendations for the establishment of a National Parliamentarian Action Group to function as a coordinating mechanism to facilitate communication with and among National Parliamentary Committees, with specific reference to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #3: ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages, with a specific target that by 2030 to end the epidemics of AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat Hepatitis, waterborne diseases and other communicable diseases.

The Forum will also seek to identify ways to collaborate with other stakeholders including faith leaders, civil society, youth, and Key Populations to respond to HIV.

Featured speakers include Hon. Delroy Chuck, Minister of Justice, Jamaica, Hon. Pearnel Charles, Sr., Speaker of the House of Representatives, Jamaica, Dr Peter Phillips, Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Fredrik Ekfeldt, Deputy Head of Mission, Minister-Counsellor at the European Union Delegation to Jamaica, Belize, The Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos and Dr Edward Greene, Special Advisor to PANCAP. Representatives of the Ministry of Health, UN agencies and civil society organizations will also be attending. Mr. Dereck Springer, Director of PANCAP, will preside over the meeting.

The objectives of the Forum are aligned with the JFA Programme and PANCAP’s regional response to the UN High-Level Political Declaration (June 2011) designed to reduce AIDS-related stigma and discrimination.

– 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, mobilizes 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 combine their expertise, 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

“Funding non-governmental organizations to reach out and support vulnerable persons is integral to the response,” says Minister of Health, Trinidad and Tobago

Thursday 21 February 2019 (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, convened the Fourth Meeting of the PANCAP Advisory Group on Resource Mobilization on 19 February 2019. Hon. Terrence Deyalsingh, Minister of Health, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and Chair of the PANCAP Executive Board delivered remarks at the opening of the meeting. One of the responsibilities of the Advisory Group on Resource Mobilisation is to provide guidance on resource mobilization strategies and support the identification of new funding sources and opportunities.

The meeting was hosted 22 months ahead of the end of 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. An output of the meeting is a Marketing Approach Framework for the PANCAP Resource Mobilisation Strategy 2018-2020 which will be used to accelerate the implementation of the Strategy.

Mr Desmond John, Director, Resource Mobilization and Technical Assistance, Caribbean Community Secretariat, and Chair of the PANCAP Advisory Group on Resource Mobilisation presided over the meeting and was supported by Director of PANCAP, Mr Dereck Springer.

Minister Deyalsingh challenged the Advisory Group to focus on the social factors, which make key populations vulnerable to HIV. “Sustaining interest to combat HIV and end AIDS, requires reaching the everyday Caribbean national in his or her, real, full world circumstance,” stated the Minister, “Taking care of one’s health and well-being, as idealized by the Sustainable Development Goal 3, is NOT a reality for the person in a domestic violence or sexually abusive relationship who may be at higher risk of getting HIV. It is not an issue that the prisoner, the migrant, the substance abuser, the sex worker or a member of the key population community, really would focus on as they face daily human rights struggles”.

The Minister emphasized that mobilizing donor funding to have a true and positive impact on the lives of vulnerable populations, requires an approach in which HIV is viewed as more than a transmitted disease, but a manifestation of the reality or consequence of everyday decisions.

He explained that in addition to the traditional project and grant-funding proposals in HIV centric organizations, there is need to infuse the HIV topic across the civic engagement programmes within other non-HIV sectors. This inclusion, whether in the area of social or community development, labour, national security or gender affairs, can have a significant lasting impact.

Minister Deyalsingh further highlighted that the HIV response should move beyond a mechanical type approach to merely reducing high-risk sexual behaviour and remaining adherent to treatment. He advocated that the response requires more than the creation of enabling environments, integration of health services and determining how to sustain the gains made in all HIV-related projects and programmes. He stated, “outside of the medical products, technologies and the imperfect legislative world, we would need to look at social spending in health to find holistic and effective strategies to achieve the UN Goals. For instance, we can consider the impact of chronic diseases and their care models on HIV screening guidelines. We can also examine the impact of mental health strategies on HIV treatment adherence and high-risk behaviours”.

The Minister further stated that the existing HIV data and research can be re-oriented through socio-demographic analysis, to determine the proportion of persons living with HIV (PLHIV) who are in need of government services. He also highlighted that it is important to determine to what extent they are benefiting from the receipt of these services through other funding sources. He emphasized that funding to conduct this type of research is key to identifying all the direct and indirect costs required to fast track the HIV agenda.

The Minister advocated that funding non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to reach out and support vulnerable persons is integral to the response. He stated that in the same vein, it should be noted that the work of the NGOs should be geared towards impacting not HIV, but people at risk of HIV.

He further advised that it is vital to measure the work of the NGOs. “It should be simple to measure the value of work NGOs are implementing, to not only have persons referred to HIV services but to other services and support,” stated the Minister, “Additionally, we must measure, through focus groups and exit interviews, the non-medical customer satisfaction with an NGO which may be a lifeline for many persons”.

Minister Deyalsingh highlighted that in order to bring about the change required the HIV response must be able to meet, identify and respect people at their circumstance, mainly through partnership with non-governmental organizations, individuals and advocates in an “All of Society” approach.

He stated, “We must be able to convince them that if they take that first step in their multistep journey to get tested or get treated, they will be supported by a comprehensive course of action, whether through services in sectors of health, social services, education, housing, labour, etc.”

– ENDS –

Helpful links:

What is the PANCAP Advisory Group on Resource Mobilization?

https://pancap.org/who-we-are/governance-bodies/pancap-advisory-group-on-resource-mobilisation/

Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS Resource Mobilization Strategy (2018-2020)

https://pancap.org/pancap-documents/pan-caribbean-partnership-against-hiv-and-aids-resource-mobilization-strategy-2018-2020/

What is PANCAP?

PANCAP is a Caribbean regional partnership of governments, regional civil society organizations, regional institutions and organizations, 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 maximize efficient use of resources and increase impact, mobilizes resources and build capacity of partners.

Republic of Trinidad and Tobago hosted Parliamentarians Sensitization Forum

Friday 20 February 2019 (PANCAP Coordinating Unit, CARICOM Secretariat): The Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) in collaboration with the Office of the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago’s National AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC), with funding from the CARIFORUM 10th European Development Fund (EDF) Programme of Support for Wider Caribbean Cooperation, hosted a Parliamentarians Sensitization Forum at the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, Port-of-Spain on Monday 18 February 2019.

The Forum formed part of a series of engagements with parliamentarians, which commenced in 2013 under the PANCAP Justice for All (JFA) programme. The objectives of the Forum were aligned with the JFA Programme, PANCAP’s regional response to the UN High-Level Political Declaration (June 2011) designed to reduce AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. The Forum outlined the challenges to the Trinidad and Tobago HIV and AIDS response, including barriers toward achieving the UNAIDS 90-90-90 Targets[1], eliminating stigma and discrimination and contributing to the end of AIDS.

Present were Hon. Ayanna Webster-Roy, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Glenda Jennings-Smith, Minister of National Security, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Frank Anthony, MP, Member of the Opposition, Guyana and Dr Edward Greene, PANCAP Advisor & Former UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for AIDS in the Caribbean.

Participants were involved in defining the legislative, representational and oversight roles of parliamentarians for addressing the challenges of ending AIDS. They discussed actions with specific timelines and made recommendations for the establishment of a National Parliamentarians Action Group to function as a coordinating mechanism to facilitate communications with and among National Parliamentary Committees. Participants also identified ways to collaborate with other stakeholders in the HIV response including faith leaders, civil society, youth and Key Populations.

[1] 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 and

By 2020, 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.

Latest PAHO “Basic Indicators” shed light on health situation in the Americas

Washington, DC, 15 February 2019 (PAHO) – The Americas region is home to more than one billion people. Every year, 15 million babies are born, and nearly 7 million people die. Life expectancy is 80.2 years for women and 74.6 for men. More than 8 in 10 people live in urban areas. These are some of the key statistics presented in the new “2018 Basic Indicators,” just published by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

The compendium, produced annually, presents PAHO’s most recent data from 49 countries and territories on the demographic and socioeconomic situation of the Americas, the population’s health status, risk factors, and coverage of health care services and health systems.

“Indicators are an essential element in the production of evidence in health to inform decision making,” says PAHO Director Carissa F. Etienne, in the preface to the publication. Such evidence means that “decision-making will be better informed and lead to increased opportunities for more effective interventions that have a greater impact on health outcomes.”

Health status

The document shows—among other findings—that approximately 6,000 women die from pregnancy-related causes each year in the Region, and more than 163,700 infants die.

The publication also shows that women in the Americas have on average two children, while teenage mothers (ages 15 to 19) have 48 newborns per 1,000 women, with subregional differences ranging from a low of 18 teen births per 1,000 women in North America to 61 per 1,000 in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Noncommunicable diseases—such as heart disease, cancer, and stroke—are the main causes of death in the Americas. Regionwide, the death rate from noncommunicable diseases is 427.6 people per 100,000 population, which is seven times higher than the death rate from communicable (infectious) diseases, at 59.9 people per 100,000 population.

With regard to infectious diseases, in 2017 Latin America and the Caribbean reported approximately 580,000 cases of dengue (44% of this total were reported from Brazil), more than 31,000 cases of leprosy (nearly 90% from Brazil), and more than 13,800 cholera cases (99% from Haiti). The HIV diagnostic rate was 14.6 people per 100,000 population regionwide, and for every new HIV diagnosis among women, there were 3.6 HIV diagnoses among men.

Protective and risk factors for health

Data are also presented on risk factors (variables that increase the chances for ill health) and protective factors (which reduce that risk). For example, breast milk is a protective factor, as it meets all a young child’s nutritional and immunological needs. In the short term, it reduces the risk of disease and death from diarrhea, respiratory and ear infections, and sudden infant death syndrome. In the long term, it reduces the risk of dental malocclusion, overweight/obesity, and diabetes mellitus. In women, it reduces the risk of invasive breast cancer, ovarian cancer, overweight/obesity, and diabetes.

Despite ample evidence that breastfeeding benefits children’s health, cognitive development and likely even their long-term economic prospects, the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months varies considerably among countries, ranging from 2.8% to 68%.

Regarding risk factors, about 8% of newborns in the Region have low birthweight (less than 2,500 grams/5.5 pounds). Chronic malnutrition affects 10% of children under 5, and 6% of children in the same age group are overweight (data from 2012). Rates of overweight and obesity are high among adults in the Americas: in 2016, 64% of men and 61% of women were overweight or obese. Additionally, 39% of adults do not perform enough physical activity.

In the Americas, 13% of adolescents consume tobacco, a percentage that varies across countries from a low of 3.8% in Canada to 25% in Chile and Dominica.

High blood pressure affects 21% of men and 15% of women in the Region (latest available data from 2015), while diabetes mellitus affects 9% of men and 8% of women.

Vaccination

Vaccination coverage in 2017 varies for different vaccines: 94% percent of the target population of children in the Americas received the tuberculosis (BCG) vaccine; 90% received the vaccine for the first dose of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR1); 88% received three doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) vaccine; 85% received three doses of polio vaccine; and 73% received the last dose of rotavirus vaccine.

Health systems

In the Americas, there are 18 doctors, 59.7 nurses and 6.7 dentists per 10,000 population. Public expenditure on health as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) is 5% on average regionwide (below the 6% recommended by PAHO’s Strategy for Universal Access to Health and Universal Health Coverage). The percentage in North America (8%) is twice that of Latin America and the Caribbean (4%). Out-of-pocket expenditure as a percentage of total health expenditure was 22% as of 2015. PAHO’s strategy on universal health recommends eventually eliminating out-of-pocket payments altogether because they constitute a significant barrier to access health services.

Blood donation from voluntary donors, the safest way to collect blood, varied from 100% in North America to an average of 40% in the rest of the Region (data from 2015).

Special topics: air pollution and homicides

This year’s publication also includes three special features: the burden of disease attributable to air pollution, recommendations on the limitations of epidemiological analysis when handling small numbers, and a map showing the distribution of homicides in the countries of the Region.

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The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) works with the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of its population. Founded in 1902, it is the world’s oldest international public health agency. It serves as the Regional Office of WHO for the Americas and is the specialized health agency of the Inter-American system.

LINKS

For more information, see the Basic Indicators 2018:

http://iris.paho.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/49511/CoreIndicators2018_eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

MEDIA CONTACTS

Leticia Linn: Tel.: +1 202 974 3440. Cell: +1 (202) 701 4005. Email: linnl@paho.org

Sebastián Oliel: Tel.: +1 202 974 3459. Cell: +1 (202) 316 5679. Email: oliels@paho.org

Ashley Baldwin: Tel.: +1 202 974 3872. Cell: +1 (202) 340 4025. Email: baldwinash@paho.org

Trinidad and Tobago National Faith Leaders Consultation

Thursday, 14 February 2019 (PANCAP Coordinating Unit, CARICOM Secretariat): The Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) in collaboration with the National AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC) in the Office of the Prime Minister, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago with funding from the CARIFORUM 10th European Development Fund (EDF) Programme of Support for Wider Caribbean Cooperation will host the National Faith Leaders Consultation in Trinidad and Tobago on 15 February 2019.

The Consultation forms part of a series of engagements with faith leaders in Trinidad and Tobago under the PANCAP Justice for All (JFA) programme. It will facilitate the development of an action plan for advancing faith leaders’ implementation of key elements of the JFA. Participants will include 40 faith leaders representing both the Faith-Based Network of Trinidad and Tobago (FBNTT) and the Inter-religious Organization of Trinidad and Tobago (IRO).

The action plan will include but is not limited to the establishment of the main goals for the religious community in Trinidad and Tobago. The action plan is geared towards ending AIDS and providing psychosocial support to those infected and affected by HIV. It will also identify the lessons learned for ending AIDS. Participants will also be engaged in establishing recommendations for improving the collaboration between the religious community and the NACC and setting priorities and timelines for achieving goals.

Speakers scheduled for the Consultation include Ms. Monica Paul-McLean, Programme Manager, External Relations, Delegation of European Union to Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Ian Ramdahin, Acting Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister (NACC), Ms. Heather Rodney, Manager, HIV Workplace Advocacy Unit, Ministry of Labour, representative National AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC); Pastor Winston Mansingh, President, Faith-based Network of Trinidad and Tobago; Pundit Lutchmidath Persad Maharaj, 1st Vice President, Inter-religious Organization of Trinidad and Tobago (IRO) and Mr. Vivian Rookhum, Senior Project Officer ,10th EDF Project.

– 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 maximize 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

CARIFORUM

European Union

Background to the PANCAP Justice for All (JFA) Roadmap

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

National AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC)

The National AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC) is a multi-sectoral co-ordination committee which includes participation of major stakeholder groups such as Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Key Population Advocates (KPAs), Trade Unions, government, international and regional agencies, academic and private sector organisations. The NACC was re-launched in December 2016 to coordinate the national multisectoral response, set priorities, goals and targets, advise and guide the Government of Trinidad and Tobago on HIV and AIDS Policy.

Faith-Based representation on the NACC comes from both the Inter-religious Organization of Trinidad and Tobago (IRO) and the Faith-Based Network of Trinidad and Tobago.

Global Partners Commit to Step Up the Fight Against AIDS, TB and Malaria

NEW DELHI – At the kick-off meeting of the Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment, leaders, global health organizations, civil society groups and people affected by the diseases vowed collective action to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and accelerate progress toward universal health coverage.

Hosted by the government of India, the Preparatory Meeting of the Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment brought together governments, donors, technical partners and civil society groups in a demonstration of global solidarity to pursue Sustainable Development Goal 3, “health and well-being for all.” The Global Fund is seeking to raise at least US$14 billion for the next three years to help save 16 million lives, cut the mortality rate from HIV, TB and malaria in half, and build stronger health systems by 2023.

“The Government of India and the Global Fund partnership has been a unique one, with India receiving and making financial and concurrent technical support from donors and partners since 2002,” said Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda, India’s Minister for Health and Family Welfare. “I am happy to share that the country has set an example globally by increasing its domestic financial allocations for health.”

India, which has the world’s largest TB epidemic, has set the ambitious goal of ending TB by 2025, five years ahead of the targets set in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Indian Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Shri Piyush Goyal stressed India was committed to increasing its domestic financial resources against the three diseases. India has pledged to increase India’s health spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2025 to pay for ambitious health reforms, including expanding primary care and delivering universal health coverage. To achieve SDG 3 and end HIV, TB and malaria as epidemics, the world needs to step up total funding from all sources, particularly from national governments.

“India is committed to improving the health of its people,” said Goyal. “We are stepping up our national domestic spending to end TB and other infectious disease. By building affordable, accessible and quality health services for all our people, we are not only making a case for better health. We are also making an argument for faster and more inclusive growth.”

France, which this year took over the presidency of the G7, will host the Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment Conference in Lyon on 10 October 2019. The conference is aimed at raising funds to fight the diseases and build stronger systems for health for the next three years.

“It is time to step up the fight to end the three epidemics by 2030. In October, for the first time in France, we will host the Global Fund’s Replenishment Conference in Lyon. We are calling on all stakeholders to mobilize to make this conference a success,” said French Minister of Solidarity and Health Agnès Buzyn. “More than ever, we all need to come together for global health. France will carry this powerful message throughout 2019, notably through our presidency of the G7 and at the Ministerial Health Meeting which I will host May 16-17 in Paris.”

Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund, commended India’s leadership in global health and said commitment and resources from national governments is essential to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.

“Reaching the Sustainable Development Goals requires the kind of global solidarity we have seen in New Delhi,” Sands said. “With global leadership from India and France and the strong voices of civil society partners, we can rid the world of these epidemics.”

The Global Fund is a signatory to the World Health Organization-led Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-Being for All, designed to deliver more effective collaboration and coordination on global health.

“WHO has been a proud partner of the Global Fund since its earliest days,” said Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Deputy Director-General for Programs at the World Health Organization. “We are now further strengthening our partnership through a landmark plan to achieve the health-related SDGs. The Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All – currently being drafted by 12 organizations working on global health – aims to ensure that together we all deliver maximum results and the best possible value for money.”

The Replenishment Conference will take place at a crucial moment. After years of remarkable progress in the fight against HIV, TB and malaria, new threats such as shortfalls in funding and increasing insecticide and drug resistance have slowed progress and enabled the diseases to gain ground.

Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund partnership has had extraordinary impact. In the countries where we invest, more than 27 million lives have been saved and the number of people dying from AIDS, TB and malaria has been slashed by one-third. The Global Fund delivers this impact together with a diverse range of partners including bilateral partners, multilateral and technical agencies, private sector companies, foundations, implementing countries, civil society groups, and people affected by the diseases.

The Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment Investment Case, presented at the meeting in New Delhi today and available on the Global Fund website, describes what can be achieved by a successful Replenishment, the new threats facing global health progress today, and the risks if we don’t step up the fight now.

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Image: (L- R) MC Shivani Pasrich; Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, WHO Deputy-Director General for Programs; Her Excellency Professor Agnès Buzyn, French Minister of Solidarity and Health; Shri J.P. Nadda, India’s Minister for Health and Family Welfare; Shri Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs; Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund; Jean-Claude Kugener, Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to the Republic of India.

Contact:
Seth Faison
Head of Communications
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Global Health Campus
Chemin du Pommier 40, Grand Saconnex 1218
Geneva, Switzerland
Office: +41 58 791 1422
Mobile: +41 79 788 1163

Director’s Message – January 2019

The evaluation of the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework (CRSF) 2014-2018 was completed and was accepted by the Priority Areas Coordinating Committee (PACC) and the Executive Board earlier this month. Among other findings, the evaluation revealed that while the Caribbean has made progress in responding to the HIV epidemic, the impact of the prevention response has been inadequate, particularly among key populations.

The evaluation reinforced the critical need for member states to invest in activities to achieve prevention and the UNAIDS 90-90-90 Targets. The Board called upon countries and the Partnership to renew efforts to build capacity and work together to achieve the targets. Members noted the legal judgments in Caribbean courts affirming human rights arising from litigation and called on countries not to wait on litigation but to make amendments to laws to recognize the rights of key populations and the rights of all to access sexual and reproductive health services. The board also noted that while tens of thousands of cases of HIV infections have been prevented there is a critical need to significantly reduce new infections. This requires countries to promote age-appropriate sexual education and skills and extend sexual reproductive health services to all youth and key populations. Members recommended the introduction of innovative prevention approaches and the improvement of prevention services to ensure greater impact in reducing new HIV infections.

The Board also called on the PACC to develop a new CRSF for the period 2019 to 2023 and agreed on the following strategic priority areas:

• An Enabling Environment
• Prevention of HIV Transmission
• Care, Treatment and Support
• Integrate HIV into Health and Socioeconomic Development
• Sustainability
• Strategic Information, Monitoring and Evaluation and Research.

The evaluation also reinforced the critical need for PANCAP to accelerate the implementation of its Resource Mobilization Strategy 2018-2020 to buffer member states as they fully transition to domestic resources for HIV. We need to work with member states to get more people to know their HIV status, retain more people on treatment and get more people virally suppressed. We must intensify our efforts to achieve the 90-90-90 Targets by the end of 2020.

The PANCAP Advisory Group on Resource Mobilization will meet in the middle of February to discuss and agree on strategies for increasing our donor base including the private sector. The Group will also explore how to stimulate creative and innovative fundraising that would be developed and packaged in a very competitive way to attract potential funders/sponsors without compromising the strategic interests of PANCAP. We look forward to using the innovative strategies agreed to accelerate the implementation of the Resource Mobilization Strategy 2018-2020.

SASOD Celebrates 15 years of advocacy for LGBTQ+ Guyanese

Image: (L-R) Parliamentarians Hon. Nigel Dharamlall, M.P., Hon. Gail Teixeira, M.P., of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Managing Director of SASOD Guyana, Mr Joel Simpson and Hon. Dr Nicolette Henry, M.P, Minister of Education (Guyana).

In December 2018, Guyana’s Society against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) celebrated its 15th anniversary with a cocktail reception at the Impeccable Banquet Hall in Georgetown, Guyana. For over 15 years, SASOD Guyana has been a dedicated voice for the LGBTQ+ Guyanese and has promoted non-discrimination and equality in the country and the Caribbean region.

The Hon. Dr Nicolette Henry, M.P, Minister of Education, delivered special remarks on behalf of the Government of Guyana. Minister Henry spoke about SASOD’s notable achievements on local, regional, and international stages such as engaging local government, leading public education and sensitization on gender and sexual diversity, and providing essential services to Guyana’s most marginalized citizens.

Minister Henry also commended SASOD for the recent victory at the Caribbean Court of Justice where the organization played a critical role in demolishing a colonial-era law that criminalized cross-dressing and disproportionately penalized transgender and gender non-conforming persons. She said that this landmark decision highlights the fact that outdated laws do not reflect the current realities and values of inclusion and cohesion in Guyana today. The Minister confirmed the Government’s commitment to ending all forms of discrimination and fulfilling the promise of equality and a good life for all Guyanese.

Founder and Managing Director, Joel Simpson, spoke on behalf of SASOD Guyana. Simpson spoke fondly of the humble beginnings of the grassroots movement as a student-led lobby group, and proudly of the acclaimed, influential movement, it has become.

“SASOD Guyana has represented the LGBTQ+ community for the past 15 years and has used every opportunity possible to hold the state accountable for its human rights obligations. SASOD will continue to advocate for equality and inclusion of all persons in Guyana”, stated the Managing Director.

Also in attendance were Opposition Chief Whip, Hon. Gail Teixeira, M.P., and Hon. Nigel Dharamlall, M.P., of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). The two PPP parliamentarians joined the Education Minister and Simpson in cutting the SASOD 15th Anniversary cake.

The celebratory event was supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and COC Netherlands, a Dutch organization that supports LGBT people.