Caricom leaders have agreed that HIV services have to be more fully integrated into the healthcare system, including pre and post-natal care, in order to eliminate mother-to-child transmission and to reduce stigma against the most at-risk groups, at the 33rd Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government.
The resolution comes at a critical time as many countries face severe budget constraints as international donor funding steadily dwindles, UNAIDS said in a press release. In order to get the most value from diminishing funds, country programmes must prioritise prevention in children and address the needs of the most vulnerable groups.
The meeting acknowledged the importance of programmes to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, noting that several countries are on track to meet a 2015 elimination target of