Good morning, colleagues and partners in health,

Let me first thank the National AIDS Programme Secretariat and the Ministry of Health
for the kind invitation to join you at today’s launch of World Hepatitis Day 2025. It is a
real pleasure to be here among champions in public health—dedicated individuals who
understand that behind every statistic is a real person, a real family, and a real
community.

This year’s theme—“Hepatitis: Let’s Break It Down”—calls us to break down barriers,
and rebuild trust in prevention, care, and treatment. And today, I’d like to begin by
sharing a little Anansi wisdom—a tale many of us in the Caribbean know well.

In one story, Anansi the spider, tried to collect all the world’s wisdom into a single
calabash so he alone could be the wisest. But no matter how he tried to hide it, wisdom
slipped through the cracks—because wisdom was never meant to be withheld. It was
meant to be shared.

And so it is with knowledge!

Too often, hepatitis remains hidden—like that calabash tucked away in the treetop—
unspoken in our communities, misunderstood by our people, and underestimated in
our health responses. Yet it is affecting lives every day: silently damaging livers, claiming
futures, and burdening our health systems.

But like Anansi eventually realized, real power lies in sharing knowledge, not hiding it.
Today’s gathering is a testament to that realization.

Together, we are choosing to break it down:

• Break down the complex science
• Break down the stigma that still silences too many of our people from seeking
care;
• Break down the silos in our health systems so that monitoring, evaluation, and
service delivery work hand-in-hand;

At PANCAP, we believe that no single health issue exists in isolation. Hepatitis, like HIV
and other STIs, is part of a broader fabric of sexual and reproductive health, of human
rights, and of equity. That’s why we remain committed to supporting member states in
developing integrated responses—where knowledge flows, systems connect, and
people come first.

Let me commend Guyana for leading by example. Your commitment to clinician
training, community engagement, and data-driven decision-making reflects exactly the
kind of leadership needed to meet our regional and global hepatitis elimination goals.

As we move forward today, let us channel the spirit of the story—distribute the calabash
of wisdom and knowledge. Let us turn knowledge into action, and action into impact.

Let us break it down, and build a healthier Caribbean.

Thank you.