The Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), is collaborating with Caribbean Faith Leaders to host a consultation on ending HIV and AIDS on February 1 and 2, 2017 in Port of Spain, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The consultation is being funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

According to Director of the PANCAP Coordinating Unit (PCU), Mr. Dereck Springer, ‘the consultation is for Caribbean Faith Leaders by faith leaders given the crucial role of the faith community in ending AIDS.
The overarching objective of the consultation will focus on the contributions that Faith Leaders can make toward ending the epidemic by 2030. These include affirming recommendations from the UN High Level 2016 Political Declaration, strategies to promote healthy living for all age groups, to address best practices, identify gaps to be filled, resources required and types of regional cooperation to be undertaken to implement recommendations from the consultation.

Forty (40) religious and lay leaders representing different faiths and denominations across the Caribbean will attend the consultation. The consultations will take the form of two keynote presentations on ‘What the science is saying’ by Professor Clive Landis, Deputy Principal of UWI Cave Hill and ‘The Role of Faith Leaders’ by Rev. Dr. Nyambura Njoroge, Project Coordinator, World Council of Churches (WCC).

The consultation will take into consideration the targets established at

• (a) the United Nations High Level Meeting Political Declaration June 2016 on ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 and
• (b) the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals approved by 192 nations at the UN in September 2015.

Emphasis will be on Goal 3: ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages. This universal health goal with complementary components includes ending the epidemics of AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria, other neglected tropical diseases and preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age by 2030; reducing maternal mortality and mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Hence, priority will be placed on universal health coverage, health systems strengthening, building capability towards a healthy environment and increasing financial sustainability. Achieving these objectives will require placing emphasis on shared responsibility among religious organizations, governments, private sector and civil society.

According to member of the Executive Planning Committee for the Caribbean Faith Leaders Consultation, Ms. Lorna McPherson, ‘what I am most impressed with is the fact that the consultation will facilitate discussions that are not just about religion, but instead we will be discussing the totality of the issue surrounding HIV and how it affects our communities. It will allow us as leaders to examine how we can reach beyond our own sphere of influence and provide support to people who are not members of our community’.

Following the conclusion of the consultation, a communique will be issued with details of the way forward for Caribbean Faith Leaders and their role in ending HIV and AIDS.

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