Caricom’s Assistant Secretary-General for Human and Social Development Dr Douglas Slater has called for continued complementary support programmes and for the elimination of HIV-related stigma and discrimination.
He made the call at a brief ceremony to present food items valued over $150,000 to the food bank of the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS)
The initiative was organised by the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) Coordinating Unit (PCU) in collaboration with the Caricom Secretariat Staff Association to observe World AIDS Day 2014. It was chaired by PANCAP Coordinating Unit Director Dereck Springer.
Dr Slater told the gathering, which included the Caricom Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary General, “[t]here is a global recognition that even with the best treatment, delivery options without the complementary programmes for prevention and for the elimination of HIV-related stigma and discrimination, ending AIDS will remaining a dream…. Together we must close the gap.”
“PANCAP is dedicated to ensuring human rights of all people throughout the region, and through its Justice for All Programme, aims to close the gap from inequality to equality and humanity for each and every person,” he said.
Dr Douglas also drew attention to the strides that have been made by the PANCAP to accelerate the pace for achieving the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. “PANCAP has provided the coordination under which many opportunities have been garnered and many gaps have already been closed,” he said.
He also highlighted a number of achievements, including a 40% decline in new HIV infections and a reduction in the prevalence of HIV to 1%; anti-retroviral treatment being available for 70% of the those eligible for it; major reduction in AIDS-related deaths; and 90% of pregnant women living with HIV receiving treatment, resulting in a 52% decline in HIV infections among children.
According to a statement from the Caricom Secretariat, the brief function also included a poetry recital by PANCAP staffer Karen Cumberbatch and a skit by Merundoi.
World AIDS Day commemorations are held around the world each year on December 1 to remember the lives lost to AIDS, recognise the people currently living with and affected by HIV and to recommit to the effort of ending AIDS.
PANCAP is a sixty-two member partnership which was established by Caricom Heads of Government in 2001 to respond to the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean.
