(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The CARICOM/Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) Regional Coordinating Mechanism (RCM) will meet in St. Kitts and Nevis on 16-17 April 2008, under the chairmanship of the Hon. Pablo Marin, Minister of Health, Belize and present Chair of the RCM.
High on the agenda of this tenth meeting is the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV & AIDS, the framework which guides the work of the Partnership. The meeting is being asked to approve the core elements of the draft Framework for 2008-2012, which was developed after intensive Region-wide consultations over the past year.
Up for discussion also is the status of the Global Fund projects being implemented by the PANCAP Co-ordinating Unit (PCU), CRN+ and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS); and other PANCAP projects, including the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Law, Ethics and Human Rights and Information and Communication projects and the Inter American Development Bank (IADB) Caribbean Education Sector HIV and AIDS Capacity Building Programme.
The meeting will receive updates on the evaluation of the Champions for Change process, the institution of the PANCAP Media award, the 2009-slated Pan Caribbean HIV and AIDS Forum and a Regional model condom policy, among other issues.
As part of its outreach efforts into the national communities, the meeting opens with a special session at which a cross-section of representatives from Government and non-governmental organisations involved in the fight against HIV and AIDS is expected to engage members of the RCM.
A key highlight of the Opening is the signing of an agreement between the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and PANCAP. The Hon. Dr Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis and Chair of PANCAP will sign the Agreement for a grant in the sum of 600,000 pounds sterling to support the work programme of PANCAP. The Prime Minister will also deliver the feature address at the Opening Session which begins at 09:00, at the Royal St. Kitts Hotel and Casino, St. Kitts and Nevis.
The RCM is the Executive Board of PANCAP. Established in 2001, PANCAP – a network which comprises governments, the private sector, faith-based organizations and other NGOs, regional institutions such as CAREC, CRN+, CHRC, UWI, UNAIDS and the UN system in general, and donor partners – continues to make an important contribution to reversing the spread of HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean Region.
For more information, contact:
Volderine Hackett: vhackett@caricom.org, pancap@caricom.org
