The Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV&AIDS, PANCAP, has formed a partnership with the Knowledge for Health (K4Health) Program to significantly enhance the capacity of the PANCAP Coordinating Unit (PCU) and to aid all PANCAP members in knowledge generation and sharing with regard to the new World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for ‘Test and Start’.

The K4Health Project, based in Baltimore, United States, is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Global Health, Office of Population and Reproductive Health and implemented by the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP).

The goal of the project is to present information that is vital to HIV testing and early treatment in concise, well-packaged communication products that can be easily accessed and utilized by policy makers, health care professionals, civil society organizations, and all entities involved in the eradication of the virus.

The new partnership between the two entities will help to enhance the availability and access to vital information regarding the new treatment eligibility.  For example, K4Health will be instrumental in revamping and relaunching the PANCAP website with fact sheets, policy documents, brochures, and other communication products which will concisely illustrate the importance of commencing early HIV treatment after a positive diagnosis as well as other issues related to advocacy around stigma and discrimination.

The K4Health Project will conduct a number of other initiatives including knowledge sharing events and workshops for PANCAP members which are designed to increase learning opportunities and exchange of best practices throughout the Caribbean region related to the implementation of the new early treatment guidelines.

The overarching aim is to support the PANCAP Coordinating Unit’s mandate to demonstrate PANCAP’s value in contributing to a regional HIV response through enhanced knowledge generation, sharing, and learning among PANCAP members and effectively supporting the scale up of “Test and Start” in the Caribbean Region.