The Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV & AIDS, PANCAP, will be represented at the Thirtieth Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD), by Director, Dereck Springer. The COHSOD meeting will be held from September 24 – 25 in Washington.

The PANCAP Director noted that his objective is to highlight the milestones and successes achieved in the response to HIV in the Region, while urging members of the COHSOD to advocate for the sustainability of these efforts in order to protect future generations and people living with the disease.

The milestones achieved in the Caribbean region through initiatives by PANCAP include a sharp regional reduction in HIV incidence in 2014 (UNAIDS 2015); declining AIDS-related deaths (UNAIDS 2015); antiretroviral coverage increased to 52% from less than 5% of the eligible population in 2001 (PAHO 2016); virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission in some countries, with Cuba becoming the first country in the world to have achieved this milestone, and several countries poised to do so; as well as substantial investments in strengthening health systems and in scaling up services for on-going care and support for people living with HIV.

‘It is important that these achievements be allowed to continue by investing in the sustainability of efforts regarding HIV prevention, treatment, stigma and discrimination,’ stated Mr. Springer.

The PANCAP Director further stated that it is crucial to strengthen efforts to respond to HIV since many International stakeholders have declared their objectives to end incidences of HIV infection. The United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS in June 2016 has adopted the ‘2016 Political Declaration on Ending AIDS: On the Fast-Track to accelerate the fight against HIV and to End the AIDS Epidemic by 2030’. This UN declaration corresponds with the principal message in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to leave no one behind.

‘There is also the challenge of funding and the need for policymakers within the Caribbean to commit to continued efforts to end HIV’, stated the PANCAP Director, ‘my objective is to bring to the attention of the COHSOD the need to urgently address the issue of funding since this can have the potential consequence of reversing the work done in the past 10 years in response to HIV’.

The Director concluded that he anticipates garnering the full support of the COHSOD in advocating for the continued funding of programs to address HIV prevention, treatment and discrimination.

The Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) promotes human and social development under Article 17 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.

Contact
Timothy Austin
Communications Specialist
PANCAP Coordinating Unit | Knowledge for Health (K4Health)
CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen
Tel: (592) 222-0001-75, Extension 3409
Email: taustin.consultant@caricom.org
Fax: (592) 222-0203