(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Under the theme Leadership: Uniting Vision and Purpose, the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV/AIDS will hold its Eighth Annual General meeting on 29-30 October 2008, in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
A key highlight of this eighth meeting is the Leadership Forum at which Jamaica’s Governor General, and former Principal of the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, Sir Kenneth Hall and Deputy Vice President HIV/AIDS Initiative of the Ford Foundation Dr. Jacob Gayle will deliver feature presentations on the theme Leadership Uniting Vision and Purpose towards Universal Access.
Viewpoints from the perspectives of the Region’s political directorate, its education and training sector and civil society will be put forward in response to these presentations, followed by a period of interaction by the general meeting.
PANCAP’s vision, plans and work programme over the next five years will come up for discussion in a presentation titled: The Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework (CRSF) 2008-2012: Defining the Strategic Direction and Programmatic orientation of PANCAP by the PANCAP Coordinating Unit Director, Mr. Carl Browne. This second framework has identified six priority areas for focus:
• An enabling environment that fosters universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support services
• An expanded and coordinated multisectoral response to the HIV epidemic
• Prevention of HIV transmission
• Treatment, care, and support
• Capacity development for HIV/AIDS services
• Monitoring, evaluation, and research and has been described as seminal.
Recent updates on what is new in the field of HIV and AIDS and the present state of the epidemic in the Caribbean are also on the agenda of this meeting.
The meeting opens in the evening of the 29th at which Her Excellency Dame Pearlette Louisy Governor General of Saint Lucia will deliver the feature address. Other key highlights of this ceremony are the official presentation of the CRSF 2008-2012 and the launch of the PANCAP Awards. The opening is scheduled for 6.30 pm in the Hanover Room of the Rose Hall Resort and Country Club.
