Media Releases – Page 41

SASOD launches project to provide free legal aid to vulnerable persons

The Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) congratulates the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) on the launch of a 12-month project to provide legal assistance to a range of vulnerable persons.

For a full description of the initiative click here.

Head of SASOD, Joel Simpson said the Community Paralegal Services Initiative targets lesbians, gays, transgenders, and sex workers. He said officials would be fanning out to entertainment spots, bars and clubs where sex workers frequent as well as communities to educate persons about their rights and redress services that are available.

The organisation will also provide legal aid for victims of intimate partner violence, juvenile delinquents, parties in family disputes, drug users and orphans.

SASOD Board Secretary, Attorney-at-Law, Mishka Puran said currently five Guyanese lawyers are providing free legal services.

Puran, who is the Guyana focal point and member of the Caribbean Lawyers for Social Justice, urged other interested lawyers to join the network. To read a full transcript of Mishka Puran’s remarks click here.

The efforts are part of the work of the University of the West Indies-based Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Initiative.

To read remarks by Devanand Milton, President of Guyana Trans United (GTU), click here.

SASOD Community Paralegal Services Initiative

The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is a human rights organisation and movement, leading change, educating and serving communities to end discrimination based on sexuality and gender in Guyana. SASOD implements three (3) key programmes which are described as the 3 ‘H’ agenda: Human Rights, Homophobia(s) Education and Human Services programmes. SASOD’s primary beneficiaries are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

SASOD has won several awards for its human rights and advocacy work. At the 2014 International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia, SASOD became the first and only Caribbean organization to date to win the globally-coveted Red Ribbon Award in Advocacy and Human Rights. The Red Ribbon Award is the world’s leading award in community-based responses to HIV. In 2015, SASOD copped the Guyana Business Coalition on Health Awareness Annual Award for Business Excellence in Partnerships. In 2016, SASOD received the Victoria Regina Award at the Second Annual El Dorado Awards for “work/life characterized by a unique focus on humanitarianism, protection, and/or activism” from the regional, diaspora-based, non-for-profit organisation, The Caribbean Voice.

Objective(s):
1. To provide legal support to vulnerable groups who cannot necessarily afford legal representation and to act as mediators, organizing community education and advocacy and to bridge the gap between the formal and often-distant justice delivery systems.

2. To work closely with other non-governmental organizations in the Guyana Equality Forum – a local civil society network for which SASOD is the secretariat – and pro-bono lawyers from CariBono: Caribbean Lawyering for Social Justice to develop an active Guyana network that refers cases, provides pro-bono assistance and brings strategic cases to advance legal gains.
Description:

The intention of this initiative is to provide and address unmet needs of vulnerable groups and to strengthen the capacity of vulnerable populations to understand and act on their rights. To address complex rights abuses such as inter-partner violence, societal discrimination, domestic abuse, child sexual abuse and family violence, civil society groups are an invaluable link to accessing justice. As SASOD implements an active human rights documentation system, potential cases for strategic litigation are coming to the fore. This initiative provides an opportunity to link these complainants to legal services in an effort to access justice.

The initiative also aims to increase awareness of human rights by educating vulnerable populations about the local laws, redress mechanisms and opportunities for legal services.

ACTIVITIES DIRECTLY CONNECTED WITH THE COMMUNITY PARALEGAL SERVICES INITIATIVE

i. Targeted outreach exercises and information dissemination: This will comprise visiting recreational and entertainment spots (clubs, bars etc) where key populations socialize. Brochures and other public education materials will be reproduced and distributed.
ii. Conduct workshops in 3 administrative regions (Regions 3, 4 and 10) of Guyana in partnership with local groups and key stakeholders who work with key populations.
iii. Conduct referrals to pro-bono attorneys of the Guyana network of CariBono through the country liaison and focal point who maintains an active roster of willing lawyers.
iv. Hold consultations with key state institutions such as the Guyana Police Force,
Ministries of Public Security, Legal Affairs and Social Protection to sensitize these duty bearers to the human rights of key populations who are historically marginalized.

Impact

The main project impacts from the Guyana Community Paralegal Programme are:
i. Bringing resources, training and support directly to marginalized communities.
ii. Integrating robust community engagements with strong, focused support systems.
iii. Fosters strong collaborations between civil society and legal fraternity to advance rights.

Expected outputs/Results:

The expected results of this initiative include the following:
i. Enhanced relations between the uniformed services and key populations.
ii. Increased access of key populations to the legal system and the likelihood of justice.
iii. Increased knowledge among key populations of their human rights and local laws.
iv. Establishment of an active Guyana network under the U-RAP – led CSJPBLG.

Competencies and Experiences:

Over the past 14 years SASOD has built up strong competencies in providing rights-related services. SASOD’s current cadre of staff and board are highly skilled in human rights law, criminal and civil practice, social work, case management and financial administration. This Programme includes:

1. Joel Simpson is the founder and Managing Director of the Society against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD). He holds Bachelors of law Degree from the University of Guyana. He is a Chevening Scholar with a Master of Laws Degree in Human Rights Law from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. He has over 14 years’ work experience.

2. Anil Persaud is a distinction graduate from the University of Guyana with a Diploma in Social Work, who is currently completing his Bachelor’s degree in Social Work. By virtue of the profession, Anil is qualified as an educator, counsellor, activist and advocate. Anil holds the position of Homophobia(s) Education Coordinator where he documents human rights cases.

3. Paige Cadogan is SASOD’s Finance and Operations officer who brings with her a wealth of knowledge and decades of experience in the field of accounting. Cadogan has worked with a number of companies in St Vincent and the Grenadines, before re-migrating to Guyana.

4. Valini Leitch is SASOD’s Human Rights Coordinator. Leitch has worked for many years in the private sector and civil society. She brings a wealth of knowledge in the areas of resource mobilisation, legislative lobbying, strategic advocacy and monitoring and evaluation.

5. Mishka Puran is an attorney-at-law admitted to practice since 2005 and is the Secretary on SASOD’s Board of Directors. She also serves as the Guyana focal point and the country representative on the regional steering committee of CariBono. Puran is also counsel on SASOD’s legal team on constitutional challenge to Guyana’s laws criminalizing cross-dressing which is currently filed for an appeal hearing before the Caribbean Court of Justice this year.

PANCAP Champion for Change Dr Arif Bulkan sworn in as Justice of Appeal

The Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS, PANCAP, congratulates Human rights lawyer, Dr Christopher Arif Bulkan on his appointment as an acting Justice of Appeal, Georgetown Guyana.

In September 2017, Dr Bulkan was nominated by Cabinet for candidature to represent Guyana on the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC). He also was a former lecturer at the University of the West Indies with specialisations in Public Law, Constitutional Law, Caribbean Human Rights Law, and International Human Rights Law.

He also co-founded the Faculty of Law UWI Rights Advocacy Project (U-RAP) at the Cave Hill campus, which is a group of law professors who engage in both litigation and advocacy aimed at promoting human rights.

Dr Bulkan has been involved in human rights advocacy for many years and has worked to establish and defend the rights of vulnerable and marginalised communities, including indigenous peoples, LGBT persons and persons living with HIV and AIDS. He has also been involved in public advocacy against the death penalty, both regionally and at events sponsored by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Dr Bulkan was appointed a PANCAP Champion for Change on September 12, 2017 during the relaunch of the initiative, Champions for change IV: ending AIDS by 2030’. Read about the event here.

Biography

Dr Arif Bulkan is an attorney-at-law who formerly practised law in Guyana as a prosecutor and then criminal defence lawyer. He subsequently obtained a PhD in Law from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Canada, and currently lectures constitutional law and human rights law in the Faculty of Law of the St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies. He is the author of ‘The Survival of Indigenous Rights in Guyana’, published by the Institute of Development Studies of the University of Guyana in 2014, and a co-author of ‘Fundamentals of Caribbean Constitutional Law’ along with Tracy Robinson and Adrian Saunders, published by Sweet and Maxwell in 2015; as well as the author of several articles in regional and international journals in the areas of constitutional law and human rights. As a consultant for PANCAP, Arif Bulkan produced a National Assessment of laws and policies impacting on HIV/AIDS in Guyana in 2004.

Arif Bulkan is a co-founder, along with Tracy Robinson and Douglas Mendes SC, of the University of the West Indies Rights Advocacy Project [U-RAP], which aims to promote human rights, equality and social justice in the Caribbean through litigation and advocacy. U-RAP initiated two ground-breaking cases seeking to promote the rights of LGBT persons in Belize and Guyana, both of which are currently under appeal. Between 2011 and 2015 Arif Bulkan served as a director of Transparency Institute of Guyana, an affiliate of Transparency International, which aims at monitoring and promoting accountability and transparency in public affairs. For his regional contributions to human rights and democracy, Arif Bulkan was conferred with the Anthony N Sabga Award for Public and Civic Contributions in 2017.

PANCAP congratulates the Government of Barbados on the opening of new public health laboratory

Image: Barbados’ Minister of Health, John Boyce with Her Excellency Linda Taglialatela, United States Ambassador to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean and the OECS, cutting the ribbon to officially declare the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory open.

The Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) congratulates the Government of Barbados on the opening of the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory. Director of PANCAP, Mr Dereck Springer deemed the achievement “a significant milestone and a positive step for health care in Barbados”.

Minister of Health, John Boyce, stated: “the opening of the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory marks a new milestone in the public health development of Barbados”.

This comment was made by the Minister during the opening and renaming ceremony of the amalgamated public health laboratory, which was held on the grounds of the new laboratory on Friday, January 5, 2018. The new public health laboratory is an amalgamation of the Public Health Laboratory, the Ladymeade Reference Unit and the Leptospira Laboratory.

“This ceremony represents a significant milestone for us here in Barbados and celebrates the tangible beginning of a new phase in public health,” stated the Minister.

“It is indeed exciting to be a part of this opening ceremony for this new facility, which has the capacity to act as a Reference Laboratory for Barbados and the Caribbean.”

Dr Kenneth George, Acting Chief Medical Officer, expressed that the opening ceremony served also as a celebration that signified the renewal and expansion of their capacity in primary health care in Barbados, which they would not have reached without the tenacity and foresight of dedicated teams, both local and international.

“The journey of public health in Barbados has been punctuated by many success stories. From the elimination of measles to the universal acceptable levels of sanitation, to the universal access to primary healthcare, to the procurement of safe and efficacious pharmaceuticals, to the development of our national response to non-communicable diseases and, more recently our continued collective responses to the epidemics of influenza, Ebola, Chikungunya and Zika,” he said.

“This journey could not have been achieved by the Government of Barbados on its own, but through technical support, expertise and financing given by many regional, international and multilateral partners including UWI, the Caribbean Public Health Agency, WHO, PAHO, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and of course, the Government of the United States of America”.

He strongly expressed that it was his belief that public health represented the building of policies and programmes to strengthen the health and wellness of our population through drawing on the attributes of information sharing, strategic planning, quality assurance and monitoring and evaluation.

Following the opening ceremony, Minister Boyce, Dr. George and other officials, such as Her Excellency Linda Taglialatela, United States Ambassador to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean and the OECS; and Laura Griesmer, Deputy Chief of Mission at the embassy of the United States of America, were treated to a tour of the new facilities.

AIDS out of isolation — rights are for everyone

Early in the response, people living with or at risk of HIV were denied their right to health because of who they are or what they do — sex workers, people who use drugs, gay men and other men who have sex with men, women and young girls, transgender people — or because of the disease they were affected by. They were denied their right to health services, their right to medicines, their right to protect themselves from infection. In being denied these rights, they were also denied their right to dignity, their right to a voice, their right to justice and their ability to live happy and fulfilling lives.

Rather than standing by and allowing increasing numbers of people to be denied services and dignity, the AIDS response utilized the power of health and human rights frameworks to leverage change. The AIDS response positioned the demand for access to HIV treatment as a right to health, showing that health services are not a privilege for the few but rather the right of everyone, regardless of their HIV status. Activists used laws and the courts to protect individual rights — when sex workers were being criminalized for carrying condoms, they took cases to court to defend the right of women to protect their own health. Communities of people living with HIV and people affected by HIV became very skilled at knowing and using the law to defend and protect themselves. Groups of people living with HIV were able to use the knowledge of their rights and the law to argue for access to new medicines. The success of the AIDS response established a path for people living with other conditions, such as diabetes, tuberculosis, hepatitis or cervical cancer, to raise their voices and demand services and
treatment.

People living with or affected HIV have led the way in demonstrating the power of the right to health, but also the power of health to realize wider rights. In seeking and securing access to justice in the courts and creating the space to make their voices heard in political and scientific forums, people living with and affected by HIV have also able to realize their right to fair
treatment and their right to participate and contribute to their communities and society. People living with HIV demanded their right to work in a safe and non-discriminatory environment, to earn a decent wage and to contribute to the economy. Building on the foundation established by HIV rights-based arguments, people living with disabilities, migrants and people affected by
tuberculosis have been able to make progress in realizing their rights.

Today, a young woman may be focused on her right to a quality education and her right to seek the information and means to protect herself from HIV, sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy. However, her focus is not just on her current needs, but also on enabling her longer-term hopes and aspirations. Her immediate ability to realize her right to education and health
has consequences for her longer-term capacity to realize her right to decent work, her right to form her own opinions and the safety to express them publicly, and when and if she chooses, her right to get married and start her own family.

Similarly, an older man living with HIV will focus on his right to quality health services. In addition to his antiretroviral therapy, he will also have concerns about ensuring that he is able to benefit from the highest attainable standards of treatment and care for older people. He may need services and treatment for hypertension and diabetes. As he is getting older and is not able to work or earn money to pay for food and housing, he will be concerned about his right to be treated with dignity and respect and to be protected from discrimination in his old age. He will be focused on ensuring that his right to safety and security is fulfilled.

People living with or affected by HIV are first and foremost people, with busy and diverse lives and needs. Like all people, their lives change and evolve throughout their life, and with those changes come evolving needs that focus on different aspects of the right to health.

Read more in UNAIDS’ new report Right to Health.

Free services for people living with HIV and AIDS

Image: Rev Garth Minott, Programme Director, Religious Groups Steering Committee of the Jamaica Council of Churches.

(Kingston, Jamaica) People living with HIV and AIDS are expected this year to have access to free services at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) office located on Hagley Park Road in Kingston.

A recent release said the services to be provided by AHF are expected to include clinic, pharmacy, counselling, and a food bank.

The promotion of these services, particularly in communities with a high concentration of people living with HIV and AIDS, is a collaborative effort between the Religious Groups Steering Committee of the Jamaica Council of Churches, which focuses on HIV and AIDS-related matters and the AHF — a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation with headquarters in Los Angeles, California, USA, the release said.

“The AHF’s mission is to focus attention on the HIV and AIDS epidemic and the right to health, through the provision of cutting-edge medicine and advocacy regardless of ability to pay. The strengthening of the capacity of religious agencies to adequately and appropriately respond to HIV and AIDS issues, is critical, especially in areas with a high concentration of persons living with HIV, most of whom are also of limited economic means,” said Dr Kevin Harvey, AHF Caribbean regional director, is quoted as saying in the release.

In preparation to launch the AHF services, a number of religious leaders from Rockfort to Six Miles, have undergone a sensitisation session on the urgency to continue to focus attention on the context, spread and impact of the HIV-AIDS epidemic, the importance of a healthy lifestyle, awareness of the right to health, together with the importance of adherence to and availability of free anti-retroviral drugs and other medications and services.

“Religious leaders have great influence at the community level through their continuous social intervention programmes, so we hope that with AHF’s guidance and support we will be better equipped to enable persons to activate the right to health and, in the process, advance the mission of promoting positive values and affirming respect for all,” said Rev Garth Minott, programme director, Religious Groups Steering Committee of the Jamaica Council of Churches.

According to the release, HIV/AIDS remains a public health concern and priority for the Ministry of Health and the Government of Jamaica. It is estimated that about 32,000 Jamaicans are living with HIV and as many as 50 percent are unaware of their status. Although the epidemic affects more men than women, over time the number of female victims has been increasing annually, the release said.

UNAIDS welcomes Gunilla Carlsson as new Deputy Executive Director, Management and Governance

GENEVA, 12 December 2017—United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Gunilla Carlsson as the new UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Management and Governance, and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations.

“Gunilla Carlsson is known for her dynamic leadership and deep knowledge of the issues,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé. “She is not a business-as-usual leader. I know her innovative approach and extensive network will be critical in taking UNAIDS to the next level.”

Ms Carlsson served as an elected member of the Swedish Parliament from 2002 to 2013 and as Minister for International Development Cooperation from 2006 to 2013. She also served as an elected member of the European Parliament from 1995 to 2002.

A strong leader in global health and development, Ms Carlsson was a member of the UNAIDS and Lancet Commission: Defeating AIDS—Advancing Global Health and a member of the World Bank Gender Advisory Council and served on the United Nations High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Currently, she is a senior adviser to the African Development Bank and serves on the board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, as Vice-Chair.

Ms Carlsson will assume her new role in early 2018. She succeeds Jan Beagle, who was appointed United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Management in June 2017.

“I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to Joel Rehnstrom for serving UNAIDS as Acting Deputy Executive Director,” added Mr Sidibé.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

PANCAP Builds Capacity of NAP Managers and Civil Society in Public Education on ‘Treat All’

Tuesday, December 5 2017 (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 PANCAP Knowledge for Health Treat All Strategy and Message Design Workshop from December 7-8 in Port-of-Spain, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

The Treat All policy, announced in September 2015 by the World Health Organisation (WHO), stated that anyone infected with HIV should begin antiretroviral treatment as soon after diagnosis as possible. With its “treat-all” recommendation, WHO removed all limitations on eligibility for antiretroviral therapy (ART) among people living with HIV; all populations and age groups are now eligible for treatment.

The workshop, designed to build the capacity of National AIDS Programme (NAP) Managers and representatives of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in creating strategic ‘Treat All’ messages, will host over 30 participants. It is an initiative of the PANCAP Knowledge for Health Project and will be facilitated by Beth Mallalieu, a Health Communications Specialist from the Johns Hopkins Centre of Communication Programmes and the PANCAP Knowledge for Health team.

Participants will be engaged in identifying target audiences (with a focus on key populations), selecting appropriate channels of communication and creating ‘Treat All’ messages that can be easily understood by key populations.

“We have listened to the needs of our civil society partners and NAP Managers and there is an urgent need for public education messages that explain the Treat All policy and benefits,’ stated Director of PANCAP, Dereck Springer, ‘we have developed a series of fact sheets on Treat All and the 90-90-90 targets; this workshop provides us with the opportunity to work directly with the Partnership to formulate strategic messages for key populations including Men who have sex with men, Sex workers and Youth within these key populations. It is essential that all stakeholders are educated about Treat All as we move to fast track the 90-90-90 targets”.
The workshop culminates a year of significant success for the Partnership with the relaunch of the Champions for Change initiative and specific interventions for CSOs, NAP managers, parliamentarians, youth, faith leaders and six countries in the region being certified as having achieved elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and Syphilis.

Editor’s notes:

What is the ‘Treat All’ Policy?

Fact: Treat All policies could help avert more than 21 million deaths and 28 million new infections by 2030 (Source: World Health Organization).

In September 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a new policy, which stated that anyone infected with HIV should begin antiretroviral treatment as soon after diagnosis as possible. With its “treat-all” recommendation, WHO removed all limitations on eligibility for antiretroviral therapy (ART) among people living with HIV; all populations and age groups are now eligible for treatment.

The expanded use of antiretroviral treatment is supported by recent findings from clinical trials confirming that early use of ART keeps people living with HIV alive, healthier and reduces the risk of transmitting the virus to partners.

WHO now also recommends that people at “substantial” risk of HIV should be offered preventive antiretroviral treatment. This new recommendation builds on 2014 WHO guidance to offer a combination of antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV acquisition, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), for men who have sex with men. Following further evidence of the effectiveness and acceptability of PrEP, WHO has now broadened this recommendation to support the offer of PrEP to other population groups at significant HIV risk. PrEP should be seen as an additional prevention choice based on a comprehensive package of services, including HIV testing, counselling and support, and access to condoms and safe injection equipment.

New recommendations on early use of ART and expanded offer of PrEP are contained in WHO’s “Guideline on when to start antiretroviral therapy and on pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV.” The new guideline stresses that, in order to effectively implement the recommendations, countries will need to ensure that testing and treatment for HIV infection are readily available and that those undergoing treatment are supported to adhere to recommended regimens and are retained in care.

The recommendations were developed as part of a comprehensive update of the “WHO consolidated guidelines on the use of antiretroviral drugs for preventing and treating HIV infection”.

Based on the new recommendations, the number of people eligible for antiretroviral treatment increases from 28 million to all 37 million people who currently live with HIV globally. Expanding access to treatment is at the heart of the set of targets for 2020 with the aim to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. These targets include 90% of people living with HIV being aware of their HIV infection, 90% of those receiving antiretroviral treatment, and 90% of people on ART having no detectable virus in their blood.

According to UNAIDS estimates, expanding ART to all people living with HIV and expanding prevention choices can help avert 21 million AIDS-related deaths and 28 million new infections by 2030.

CLICK HERE for the Guideline on when to start antiretroviral therapy and on pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV.

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.

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

Success! Six Caribbean Countries join Cuba In Eliminating Mother-To-Child Transmission Of HIV And Syphilis (EMTCT)

Friday, December 1 2017 (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, commends the Caribbean countries that received validation by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) for the dual Elimination of Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV and Syphilis. The countries are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Montserrat and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

In 2015, Cuba made history when it became the first country in the world to have achieved the dual elimination of the Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Syphilis (EMTCT). Since then a number of Caribbean countries and territories have prepared EMTCT reports and have applied to the PAHO Director for validation.

The announcement was made during a special ceremony hosted by Saint Kitts and Nevis, which included a feature address by the Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Lead Head for Human Resources, Health and HIV, CARICOM and Chair of PANCAP, the Right Honourable Timothy Harris. The Director of PAHO, Carissa F. Etienne also made remarks during the ceremony as well as Massimo Ghidinelli, Chief, HIV/AIDS Unit, PAHO, Dr Aida Oliver, Deputy Regional Director, UNICEF Office, Dr Cesar Nunez, Regional Director, Latin America and Caribbean, UNAIDS, Yolanda Simon, Regional Advocate for Persons Living with HIV and Merceline Dahl-Regis, Chair, Regional Validation Committee (RVC).

In his message, Prime Minister Timothy Harris, stated that he was particularly proud of his country for achieving such a significant milestone since it meant that mothers and babies within the health care system are enjoying better health outcomes. He emphasized that Saint Kitts and Nevis is serious about remaining on the trajectory to end AIDS and that the announcement is an impetus for the Government and people of the country to work harder for the elimination of the disease.

The Director of PAHO urged the representatives of the newly validated countries to think of the achievement as a next step rather than the culmination of the process.
She explained that validated countries are due for revalidation every two years and countries must maintain a Mother-to-Child transmission rate of 1% or less in order to uphold their validation.

Director of PANCAP, Mr Dereck Springer, reacted to the announcement by underscoring the significance of the achievement to achieving PANCAP’s vision of an AIDS-free Caribbean. He emphasized that the validation for EMTCT of HIV and Syphilis sends a strong message that the Caribbean is making remarkable progress towards achieving the goal of an AIDS-free generation and that this milestone directly aligns with the vision and objectives of PANCAP.

The Director posited that the achievement signalled that the spread of the disease from mothers to children is being halted but implored that the process of maintaining EMTCT must be upheld by the countries who received validation. He also highlighted that the announcement will provide significant motivation for other Caribbean countries to accelerate their efforts to achieve elimination.

“Certification is only a first step. We must now maintain this achievement and work to eliminate these diseases in other key population groups in the coming years to reach the end of these epidemics by 2030″ stated Mr Springer.

The Director urged PANCAP member states to remain committed to the goal of EMTCT and embrace the Regional EMTCT Strategy and Plan of Action, which was renewed in 2016 in the ‘Plan of Action for the Prevention and Control of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (2016-2021)”.

An independent Regional Validation Committee (RVC) utilizing the global validation standards recommended by WHO led the validation review process.

– ENDS –

Six Caribbean territories and states eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis

Saint Kitts and Nevis/ Geneva, December 1, 2017 – Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Montserrat and Saint Kitts and Nevis were today certified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as having eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.

“This elimination is the result of our strong political commitment to public health and of making the health of mothers, children and families a regional priority,” said Timothy Harris, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis. Over the last six years the Caribbean has succeeded in reducing new HIV infections in children by more than half. “This is an amazing achievement given the high rates of HIV in the past, and we intend to improve on this success story even more in the future.”

Carissa F. Etienne, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Regional Director for the Americas of WHO, said “This elimination is a remarkable achievement that puts the Americas at the forefront of the global effort to ensure that no child is born with HIV or congenital syphilis”. “With political commitment, stronger health systems, and timely prevention, diagnosis and treatment, we can achieve great changes,” she added.

“UNAIDS congratulates the six states and territories on this important achievement,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “All countries should follow their example and ensure that every child has an HIV-free start to his or her life.”

In 2015, Cuba, another Caribbean island, became the first country in the world to receive validation from WHO for having achieved elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. Subsequently, Thailand and Belarus were also validated as having achieved dual elimination, while Armenia received validation of its elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and the Republic of Moldova was validated for the elimination of congenital syphilis.

Since the launch in 2010 of the Regional Initiative for the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Congenital Syphilis in Latin America and the Caribbean—coordinated by PAHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), with support from other regional partners—new HIV infections have been reduced in the Caribbean by more than 52% among children, from 1800 in 2010 to fewer than a thousand in 2016. Reported cases of congenital syphilis, meanwhile, remain below the goal of having no more than 50 cases per 100,000 live births, although they have not declined since 2010, and it is likely there is underreporting of cases.

“The elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis is not just a dream; it’s an achievable goal,” said Maria Cristina Perceval, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. “Today we can say we are closer to ensuring an AIDS-free generation”.

In the Caribbean as of 2016, 74% of pregnant women living with HIV, 64% more than in 2010, had access to antiretroviral therapy to protect their health and significantly reduce the possibility of transmitting the virus to their children during pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding. The increased access to treatment contributed to a 52% reduction in the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV between 2010 and 2016, which is now at 9%, still higher than the target of 2%.

Other changes in the health sector that have contributed to this progress include intensive participation by both the public and private health sectors, led by the ministries of health, in the implementation of comprehensive maternal and child health services, with an emphasis on universal coverage and quality antenatal and prenatal care. They also include expanded testing to ensure early detection and immediate treatment for both HIV and syphilis, laboratory networks of guaranteed quality in accordance with international standards and the implementation of essential measures to guarantee the human rights of women living with HIV.

“The validation for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis sends a strong message that the Caribbean is making remarkable inroads to achieving the goal of an AIDS-free generation and the achievement directly aligns with achieving our vision and objectives,” said Dereck Springer, Director of the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS. “The spread of the disease from mothers to children is being halted, but elimination status must be maintained and other Caribbean countries must strengthen their services with the goal of receiving validation from WHO,” he added.

The elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis is an important milestone for ending AIDS and sexually transmitted infections as public health threats by 2030, commitments endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly and by the World Health Assembly. Other PAHO Member States in the Caribbean are participating in the formal validation process, and it is expected that more will be recognized for their achievements in 2018.

Spotlight on HIV prevention

This week, PAHO and UNAIDS launched their first joint report on HIV prevention in the Americas, entitled HIV Prevention in the Spotlight: A Health Sector Analysis in Latin America and the Caribbean. The report shows that the number of new HIV infections among adults remained stable in Latin America and the Caribbean between 2010 and 2016, at about 120,000 new HIV infections annually. The report urges countries to step up the implementation of a comprehensive package of interventions to prevent new HIV infections for key populations, so as to end the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030.

Among the report’s specific recommendations is expanded access to HIV self-testing and diagnosis of other sexually transmitted infections, the provision of pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis as recommended by WHO, treatment for all people living with HIV, and eliminating discrimination.

HIV and syphilis in the Caribbean in 2016*
• 310 000 [280 000–350 000] people living with HIV.
• 64% [51–74%] of people living with HIV know their status.
• 81% [64– >85%] of people diagnosed with HIV on antiretroviral therapy.
• 67% [53–77%] of people on antiretroviral therapy have a suppressed viral load.
• 18 000 [15 000–22 000] new HIV infections.
• 9400 [7300–12 000] AIDS-related deaths.
• 1.25 million live births in 2014 in 31 Caribbean countries.
• 10 000 [8700–12 000] children up to 14 years of age living with HIV, 29% less than in 2010.
• <1000 [<1000–1000] new HIV infections among children up to 14 years old in 2016, more than 52% less than in 2010.
• 11 000 [9000–13 000] new HIV infections prevented among children up to 14 years old from 2010 to 2016.
• 97% of women attend at least one antenatal check-up, and 94% of deliveries took place in hospitals in 2016.
• 78% of pregnant women were tested for HIV in 2016, 35% more than in 2010.
• 74% [65–84%] of pregnant women living with HIV are on antiretroviral therapy, a 64% increase since 2010.
• 9% rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, 52% less than in 2010.
• 96% coverage of testing for syphilis among pregnant women who had at least one prenatal visit, stable since 2010.
• 80% of pregnant women diagnosed with syphilis received adequate treatment, stable since 2010.
• 1 case of congenital syphilis every 10 000 live births in 2016 according to data from 21 countries, stable since 2010.
* Source: Global Monitoring of AIDS 2017, UNAIDS and data directly reported by countries to PAHO.
WHO validation process

The validation process begins with a request from a country to PAHO for the validation of the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. Then, an independent Regional Validation Committee is formed to carry forward the process, using the global validation standards recommended by WHO.

In the case of these Caribbean states and territories, the members of the regional committee were experts from 10 countries of the Americas, who reviewed the reports of each state and carried out virtual and in situ evaluations in four key areas: health programmes and services, data and information systems, laboratory quality and human rights, gender equality and community participation.

On the recommendation of the regional committee, the Global Validation Advisory Committee conducted a second review and recommended to the Director-General of WHO the validation of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Montserrat and Saint Kitts and Nevis for the achievement of the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis as a public health threat.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) works with the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of their peoples. Founded in 1902, it is the oldest international public health organization in the world. It acts as the regional office for the Americas of the WHO and is the specialized health agency of the inter-American system.

Note to editors:

The indicators required by PAHO / WHO for validation in the Americas include:
Impact indicators—must be reached for at least two consecutive years:
• 30 cases or fewer of new perinatal HIV infections per 100,000 live births; and
• 50 cases or fewer of congenital syphilis per 100,000 live births; and
• 2% or below rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
Process indicators—must be achieved for at least two consecutive years:
• 95% or more of all pregnant women should receive at least one antenatal care visit.
• 95% or more of pregnant women living with HIV tested for the virus.
• 95% or more of pregnant women attending prenatal care screened for syphilis.
• 95% or more of pregnant women diagnosed with HIV or syphilis receive adequate treatment.

The term validation is used to attest that a country has successfully achieved the indicators (regional and global targets established for validation) to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis at a specific point in time and demonstrate a health system strong enough to maintain the gains.

LINKS

Global validation of the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis
www.who.int/hiv/topics/mtct/emtct-validation/en
Video – Elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV and syphilis in the Caribbean:
https://youtu.be/LnH2VBb0NTc
HIV Prevention in the Spotlight: A Health Sector Analysis in Latin America and the Caribbean
www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13959%3Apaho-unaids-call-for-stepping-up-hiv-prevention-efforts-and-offering-all-available-options-to-prevent-new-infections&catid=740&Itemid=1926&lang=en
CONTACTS:
PAHO/WHO Washington, DC
Leticia Linn | Phone. + 1 202 974 3440 | Mobile: +1 202 701 4005 | E-mail: linnl@paho.org
Sebastián Oliel | Phone: +1 202 974 3459 | Mobile: +1 202 316 5679 | E-mail: oliels@paho.org
Daniel Epstein | Phone. +1 202 974 3579 | E-mail: epsteind@paho.org. PAHO/WHO: www.paho.org