Thursday 18 October 2018 (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 the Suriname National Faith Leaders Consultation in Suriname on the 19 and 20 October 2018. 

This Consultation is a follow-up to a series of engagements with faith leaders in Suriname under the PANCAP Justice for All programme. It will facilitate the development of an action plan for advancing faith leaders’ implementation of key elements of the Justice for All programme. Participants will include 40 Faith Leaders representing national faith leaders’ networks across Suriname.

The action plan will include the establishment of the main goals for an inter-religious faith leaders network in Suriname with emphasis on contributing toward the end of AIDS.  The consultation will also aim to identify the lessons learned for ending AIDS from faith leaders’ engagements with People Living with HIV and with other groups such as parliamentarians, youth leaders, civil society and members of church communities.  It will examine the challenges for developing a viable Faith Leaders Network and proposals for overcoming them. Participants will be engaged in making specific recommendations to achieve the goals of the inter-religious/faith leaders network.  In addition, the consultation will seek to establish priorities and timelines for achieving the goals of the Network.

In an invited comment, coordinator of the consultation, Rev. Danielle Dokman, Municipality of Pastor Gemeenschap van Hoop Lutheran Church, said, “This meeting would broaden faith leaders’ awareness of the PANCAP Justice for All programme.  It will also provide an opportunity for faith leaders to work collectively on addressing the social issues and contribute towards achieving the 90-90-90 Targets and ending AIDS by 2030. We look forward to continued collaboration among faith leaders and key stakeholders in the HIV response both at the national and regional level”.

– ENDS –

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.

• 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 link together 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

Helpful links:

PANCAP Justice for All (JFA) programme – https://pancap.org/what-we-do/justice-for-all/ 

10th European Development Fund Project (EDF) – https://pancap.org/pancap-work/10th-european-development-fund-project/